The Trump administration fired employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday as part of its plan to cut 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The cuts are part of President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk’s larger plan to reduce staffing levels in federal departments and agencies.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described the cuts at the CDC and FDA as necessary for streamlining a bloated bureaucracy.
However, the cuts, which included earlier dismissals, resulted in the departure of top scientists from key agencies for public health, cancer research, and drug oversight, raising concerns about how the United States will safely oversee the health sector and respond to emergencies.
Brian King, the head of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, was fired, according to an email sent by King to FDA employees obtained by Reuters.
Peter Stein, director of the Office of New Drugs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research division, resigned on Tuesday, according to one source familiar with the situation.
King and Stein’s exits adds to top leadership departures across the FDA’s divisions including drugs, food, vaccines, medical devices and tobacco products. Staff have also been leaving and some employees reviewing products say they are struggling to meet their deadlines.
An FDA employee said staff had to present their badges at the building entrance and those who had been fired were given a ticket and told to return home, according to one source.
According to the second source, fired CDC employees worked at the National Center for Environmental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
According to the source, at least one NCIRD employee who works on the federal response to measles outbreaks was among those laid off.
