Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly planning to reduce the department’s workforce by 10,000 positions. The National Pulse reported in mid-February that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was poised to cut 5,000 jobs. However, that number has now appeared to have doubled as Sec. Kennedy and staff with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have identified further redundancies.
The reductions are expected to impact several key agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These cuts will follow the exit of another 10,000 employees who recently left their roles through President Donald J. Trump’s federal employee buyout program.
“We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Sec. Kennedy said in a statement. An announcement regarding the job reductions is anticipated on Thursday.
The total number of full-time HHS employees will be reduced from 82,000 to 62,000. Additionally, the department’s 28 divisions will be consolidated into 15, and the number of regional HHS offices will also be reduced by around half.
Meanwhile, HHS is also rolling back COVID-19 pandemic-era funding programs totaling an estimated $11.4 billion—with most of the money designated for state and local health departments. The funds were originally designated for testing, vaccination, and initiatives addressing health disparities in high-risk communities. The department contends the pandemic has concluded and criticized further spending as unnecessary. Termination notices began being sent out on Monday, and the CDC plans to reclaim the funds in about a month.
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