RFK Jr. Announces Mass Terminations, Major Restructuring at HHS

The Epoch Times Header

Approximately a quarter of the staff at the Department of Health and Human Services is being laid off.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on March 27 announced major changes at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the merging of some divisions, in a bid to become more efficient.

โ€œWe are going to streamline HHS to make our agency more efficient and more effective,โ€ Kennedy said in a video statement.

The other goal is improving the quality of service.

Kennedy said that in addition to consolidating divisions, mass layoffs will reduce the full-time HHS workforce by about 25 percent from 82,000 workers.

Kennedy said that the transition will be painful but that โ€œwe are going to do more with less.โ€

The reorganization, which will take 28 divisions down to 15, is expected to save $1.8 billion a year, health officials said.

The division that will be most affected is the Food and Drug Administration, with about 3,500 workers being fired, according to HHS. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionโ€™s workforce will be reduced by about 2,400 employees. Some 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health will no longer have jobs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, another division, will move forward with about 300 fewer workers.

HHS said in a statement that many of the divisions contain โ€œredundant units.โ€ Officials are going to consolidate the units into 15 divisions. One new division will be called the Administration for a Healthy America and feature five former divisions, including the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The reorganization, spurred by President Donald Trumpโ€™s order to agencies to initiate mass terminations, will not affect key services, such as Medicare and Medicaid, HHS said.

Some criticized the announcement.

โ€œRFK Jr. is GUTTING the worldโ€™s best public health agency. Heโ€™s planning to fire researchers, food and drug inspectors, disease experts, and thousands more who keep us safe and healthy. This is dangerous for America and the world,โ€ the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee said on social media platform X.

HHS already fired about 3,200 probationary workers, or newer employees, according to court filings. HHS was among the agencies that were recently ordered to reinstate those workers.

Other workers accepted the Trump administrationโ€™s buyout offer, which let workers go on paid leave until September or take early retirement, HHS said on Thursday.

About 10,000 additional employees will be terminated, according to the department. Once complete, the restructuring will leave HHS with a workforce of about 62,000.

The HHS budget increased by about 38 percent from 2021 to 2025, Kennedy said. Staffing went up by 17 percent during that time.

โ€œBut all that money has failed to improve the health of Americans,โ€ he said.

He cited the growth in the rate of chronic disease and cancer, as well as a lower life expectancy for Americans when compared to Europeans.

Kennedy said that heโ€™s found HHS is โ€œmainly operating in silos,โ€ with some divisions working โ€œat cross-purposes with each other.โ€

โ€œA few isolated divisions are neglecting public health altogether and seem only accountable to the industries that theyโ€™re supposed to be regulating,โ€ Kennedy also said, without naming the divisions.

He also said that in one instance, โ€œdefiant bureaucrats impeded the secretaryโ€™s office from accessing the closely guarded databases that might reveal the dangers of certain drugs and medical interventions.โ€

HHS did not respond to a request for more information.

By Zachary Stieber

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Columns

Viewers like you

There is no constitutional authority for any spending on public broadcasting โ€“ period. Any questions: See Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Beyond the Trump-Musk fallout?

We are witnessing an unprecedented, unhinged Democrat effort to use lawfare, big Democrat donors, street theater, congressional disruptions, potty-mouth videos, the administrative state, the legacy media, and discredited pollsters to stop the Trump agenda.

Trans-wormal

No worm ever said "I am anthropomorphizing, I am a butterfly" to a toad or flock of geese and expected acknowledgement and support.

In Greenlandโ€™s Icy Capital, Past Troubles Haunt Hopes for the Future

As geopolitical realities and ongoing economic growth raise the stakes, U.S. interest in Greenland and the dream of independence may change things in a big way.

How a Chinese Government Statistician Was Forced to Report Fake Data

Chinese local govt employee produced a non-authorized report on bees and was visited by police and threatened with being sent to a mental hospital.

News

Supreme Court Sides With DOGE in Social Security, Records Cases

The Supreme Court handed DOGE two big wins late on June 6 in its effort to reduce the size of the federal government.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Returns to US to Face Criminal Charges

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, is on his way back to the US, where he will face criminal charges for allegedly smuggling illegal immigrants.

White House Adviser Gives Update on DOGEโ€™s Future Amid Muskโ€“Trump Spat

A top White House adviser said DOGEโ€™s work will likely continue amid a spat between its former chief, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump.

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Dismantling of Education Department

Trump admin asked Supreme Court to allow it to resume dismantling U.S. Dept of Education, following a lower courtโ€™s previous order halting process.

FTC Warns of Rising Student Loan Scams, Says Fraudsters Took Millions From Borrowers

FTC is warning borrowers to steer clear of student loan debt-relief scams, after shutting down group of companies that allegedly charged millions in illegal fees and left customers worse off.

Walmartโ€™s Drone Delivery Coming to 5 More US Cities

Walmart is set to launch its drone delivery service in five more U.S. cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, the company.

Court Orders Trump Administration to Restore AmeriCorps Funding to States

Federal court ordered Trump admin to restore AmeriCorps funding to states. The ruling comes as part of a lawsuit filed by 24 states and DC.

Tax Deductions You Can Take Without Itemizing

Itโ€™s not always beneficial to itemize. With IRSโ€™s current standard deduction for 2025 most Americans who canโ€™t itemize go with standard deduction.
spot_img

Related Articles