HHS Secretary Kennedy Plans to Cut 10,000 Jobs

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce drastic changes to his department Thursday, including cutting 10,000 full-time employees and closing regional offices, according to documents outlining the plans.

The cuts in the workforce are in addition to the roughly 10,000 employees who chose to leave their jobs through voluntary separation plans after President Donald Trump took office, reports The Wall Street Journal, which viewed the documents.

The cuts include:

Food and Drug Administration: 3,500 full-time employees, or 19% of the workforce.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 2,400 employees, or about 18%.
National Institutes of Health: 1,200 employees, or 6%.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: 300 employees, or 4%.

The plan would shrink the department to about 62,000 by removing one-quarter of its workforce and eliminating five of the HHS's 10 regional offices, according to the documents, which add that essential health services will not be affected.

The employees being let go are spread among departments nationwide that are tasked with the approvals of new drugs, providing insurance for the nation's poorest people, responding to disease outbreaks, and more.

The CDC, meanwhile, will return to its "core mission" of preparing for and responding to epidemics, according to the documents. Its cuts are not to come from the divisions that focus on infectious diseases, an HHS official said.

The reorganization further calls to centralize HHS communications, information technology, procurement, human resources, and policy planning efforts that are now distributed through the department's divisions and some branches.

The secretary is also planning to create a new subdivision, the Administration for a Healthy America, combining HHS offices addressing toxic substances, occupational safety, addiction, and more into one central office. It will focus on programs addressing chronic disease prevention and health resources for low-income Americans.

Kennedy, a frequent critic of the HHS in the past, ran for president last year on a platform to address chronic disease in America. After he endorsed Trump in August, the two said they were going to "make America healthy again."

The Trump administration, through efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has cut thousands of federal government employees. Several lawsuits have been filed to challenge the dismissals.

The cuts are not to affect the FDA's inspectors or food reviewers, and several FDA probationary workers who had been cut last month were rehired a week later.

The plan also calls for several offices to shift.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which oversees the Strategic National Stockpile and pandemic preparedness planning, is to be moved under the CDC, rather than operating as it does now as a separate division.

Kennedy's Administration for a Healthy America is to include the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Substance Abuse and the Mental Health Services Administration, along two divisions under the CDC, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Other offices relating to adjudicating or investigating disputes related to Medicare or other areas of HHS are to move to be under a new Assistant Secretary of Enforcement.

In addition, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will merge with the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation to form a new Office of Strategy, and programs for older adults currently under the Administration for Community Living will move to other divisions of HHS, including CMS.