HHS Layoffs Affect Critical Programs as Trump Administration Dismantles Key Offices
The HHS layoff cuts threaten essential programs, including LIHEAP, with broad implications for public health services and economic assistance.
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The sheer breadth of the cuts is staggering: The layoffs affected agencies that exist to fight deadly pathogens, to protect the nation’s drug supply, to finance and carry out cutting-edge research—along with countless other divisions and offices that touch everything from rural health to early childhood care.
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The layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services slashed the staffs of major federal aging, disability and anti-poverty programs, leaving the future of those programs uncertain.
HHS layoffs hit Meals on Wheels and other services for seniors and disabled
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LIHEAP is widely seen as a lifeline for millions of low-income households struggling to cover home heating and cooling costs.
Entire staff responsible for utility assistance included in HHS cuts, sources say
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These large-scale reassignments are unheard of for the NIH, the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research.
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Scientific American·18d·Mostly ReliableThis source is generally reliable but sometimes includes opinion, propaganda, or minor inaccuracies.Leans LeftThis outlet slightly leans left.The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many of the key experts who have long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues.
Here's where jobs and programs are being cut at the nation's top health agencies
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The layoffs are expected to impact 3,500 employees at the Food and Drug Administration and 2,400 employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- nearly one-fifth of the workforce at both public health divisions, which fall under HHS.
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The staffing cuts will fundamentally reshape the health agency and center more power and decision-making among political appointees.
HHS layoffs cut deep swath through health infrastructure
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The cuts also come as the US is battling one of the worst measles outbreaks in a decade.
Massive layoffs begin at top US health agency
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The restructuring is leading to mass layoffs.
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Newsweek·19d·Mostly ReliableThis source is generally reliable but sometimes includes opinion, propaganda, or minor inaccuracies.CenterThis outlet is balanced or reflects centrist views.The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many of the key experts who have long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues.
Where Jobs, Programs Were Cut at Health Agencies
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As these outbreaks of potentially deadly diseases escalate, with no clear resolution in sight, the Trump administration has begun the process of firing an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 employees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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The overhaul is meant to consolidate 28 divisions of HHS into 15 main units — with 3,500 job eliminations at the FDA, 2,400 at CDC, 1,200 at NIH, and 300 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according to an HHS fact sheet.
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The big picture: Entire offices are reportedly being cut in the reorganization, intensifying concerns about increased political interference in health care and a loss of expertise.
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The layoffs are expected to shrink HHS to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers.
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The plan would consolidate agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America.
Layoffs begin at HHS agencies responsible for research, tracking disease and regulating food
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The layoffs are expected to shrink HHS to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers.
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The job cuts mark the first tangible impact of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s departmental overhaul announced last week, landing just days after Donald Trump moved to strip collective bargaining rights from workers at HHS and other federal agencies.
Thousands of US health agency workers laid off in overhaul led by RFK Jr
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The cuts - including earlier dismissals - have led to the departures of top scientists at key agencies for public health, cancer research and drug oversight, raising concerns about how the U.S. will safely oversee the health sector and respond to emergencies.
Trump administration starts mass layoffs at health agencies
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The plan would consolidate agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers across the country under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America.
Layoffs start at federal health agencies that deal with drugs, food, insurance
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HHS announced last week that its reduction in force, or RIF, would cut 10,000 full-time employees in addition to 10,000 employees who’ve left voluntarily, shrinking the workforce from about 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000.
‘It’s a bloodbath’: Massive wave of job cuts began at US health agencies
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Summary
In a recent HHS reorganization, approximately 10,000 employees were laid off, with major cuts affecting the CDC and FDA. The complete elimination of LIHEAP staff raises fears about the program's ability to assist low-income households with utility bills, as oversight mechanisms are dismantled. Andrew Germain, former director of fiscal operations at HHS, warned the program could collapse without federal management. Layoffs also impacted the Administration for Community Living, which administers vital services for seniors and disabled individuals. Bipartisan critics, including lawmakers and former officials, express concerns over care gaps and rising utility costs, urging transparency from HHS.
Perspectives
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is moving forward with a significant restructuring plan that involves laying off approximately 10,000 employees and reshaping its operations, as revealed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Critics express fears that this overhaul may undermine HHS's capacity to manage public health effectively, especially in light of the ongoing health crises like measles outbreaks and avian flu concerns.
Democratic lawmakers express deep concern regarding the ramifications of these layoffs, particularly at critical agencies like the FDA, NIH, and CDC. They argue that these cuts threaten essential public health monitoring and intervention efforts while also jeopardizing federal support programs such as LIHEAP, which is vital for low-income households requiring assistance.
The extensive layoffs come alongside an executive order that strips collective bargaining rights from federal employees, raising alarms about potential political bias in public health and threatening institutional knowledge indispensable for effective governance.
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