Imagine a scenario where vital public health services are dramatically reduced just when they are most needed. This alarming situation is currently unfolding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where recent job cuts have left some expressing deep concern over the agency's ability to respond effectively in times of crisis.
In August, staff and advocates rallied in protest against the proposed reductions outside the CDC's headquarters. However, the situation escalated over the past weekend when a staggering 600 employees were abruptly let go as part of a broader initiative by the Trump Administration aimed at shrinking the federal workforce during a partial government shutdown.
The process of these layoffs was anything but orderly. On Friday, over 1,300 CDC staff members received disheartening notifications regarding their termination. Many of these employees were already furloughed as a consequence of the shutdown and learned about their job loss through a social media post made by Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, who announced that "the RIFs have begun"—a term referring to the reduction in force. Shockingly, the following day, around 700 individuals received emails retracting their initial layoff notifications, according to data collected by the National Public Health Coalition, an organization comprised of former CDC personnel.
One of those affected, Aryn Melton Backus, a health communication specialist in the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health who has been on administrative leave for several months, stated that this was her third job termination notice within the year. "We have no idea why certain programs were cut while others remained intact," Backus lamented during a press conference organized by the NPHC. "Right now, it feels as though chaos and a lack of transparency have become the norm."
A recent court document from the Department of Health and Human Services pointed to "data discrepancies and processing errors" as contributing factors to the firings and their swift rescindment. When everything settled, approximately 600 positions at the CDC were eliminated over the weekend, as confirmed by the former CDC employee organization and AFGE Local 2883, a union representing CDC workers.
Those let go included vital personnel who brief Congress, experts in health statistics and chronic disease, as well as support employees like those working at the CDC library and mental health professionals who provided support after a violent incident at the CDC's main campus in August. In a troubling twist, human resources staff members who were recalled from furlough were tasked with implementing the layoffs of their own colleagues and fellow team members. While the HHS has refrained from confirming specifics regarding the number or categories of employees impacted by this wave of layoffs, spokesperson Andrew Nixon indicated that the terminated staff were labeled as "non-essential".
In total, the court filing revealed that on October 10, a deliberate decision was made to cut 982 employees across the HHS, an umbrella that includes agencies such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, alongside the CDC. The national union representing federal workers is challenging the legality of these layoffs, branding them as a cruel strike against dedicated workers during an ongoing federal shutdown. "These unlawful firings of our union members show a blatant disregard for hardworking Americans and severely threaten the livelihoods, health, and safety of our members and the communities they serve," said Yolanda Jacobs, a health communications expert at the CDC and president of AFGE Local 2883, at a Tuesday press conference.
This latest round of job losses compounds the already significant exodus of staff from the CDC this year, following previous layoffs, early retirements, and voluntary departures. According to union reports, the agency has seen a reduction of approximately 3,000 employees, equating to about 25% of its workforce, since the beginning of January. The entirety of the CDC's Washington office has been disbanded in this latest cut, disrupting a crucial support network for Congressional representatives. Dr. John Brooks, who previously served as the chief medical officer for the CDC's Division of HIV Prevention, emphasized at the NPHC press conference that this upheaval means Congress no longer has direct access to the agency it allocates funding to when information or briefings are required.
Beyond the Washington office, essential policy specialists at the CDC who were responsible for preparing briefings and addressing inquiries from Congress have also been terminated, according to NPHC members. This undermining of the CDC's workforce and resources under the Trump administration raises significant concerns about the nation's public health readiness, as highlighted by experts like Dr. Brooks. "Many professionals, including myself, worry that the erosion of our public health response capabilities leaves us ill-prepared for future outbreaks or disasters," he remarked.
State and local health departments are already feeling these repercussions. Historically, when faced with challenges like foodborne illness outbreaks or hospital-acquired infections, they would reach out to the CDC for crucial assistance. "This support might involve sending personnel to aid in investigations or consulting a leading expert on a particular infection or exposure problem," explained Dr. Karen Remley, a former CDC official and health commissioner for Virginia, at the same press conference. "At this point, however, there’s effectively no one available to take those calls." In a separate email, Nixon characterized the federal health structure as an excessively large bureaucracy, asserting that HHS is committed to eliminating wasteful and overlapping functions to streamline operations for the benefit of the American public.
