Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies, sources say

The Trump administration launches a 10,000-job cut plan with FDA and CDC layoffs.

 A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia September 30, 2014. (photo credit: REUTERS/TAMI CHAPPELL/FILE PHOTO)
A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia September 30, 2014.
(photo credit: REUTERS/TAMI CHAPPELL/FILE PHOTO)

The Trump administration fired staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, as it embarked on its plan to cut 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

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.

At the CDC, fired staff worked at National Center for Environmental Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, according to the second source.

 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, appear before the media in the Oval Office last week.  (credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, appear before the media in the Oval Office last week. (credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)

Trump administration changes government

Officials at the US Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately available for comment.

The cuts are part of a wide plan by President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink staffing levels in federal departments and agencies.