The large-scale government firings have now targeted thousands of probationary employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), wiping out the ranks of young and up-and-coming scientists from the nation’s leading health and research agencies as well as the more senior staff who had advanced to new positions. 

Although it is unclear how many workers the Trump administration plans to cut, dismissing scientists on probation who do not yet enjoy the same job protections in the civil service system, offer an easy target for termination. 

“It’s using a machete instead of a surgical knife,” Dr Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), told Health Policy Watch in an interview. 

Contrary to popular perceptions about government bloat, he noted that the federal government workforce is slightly smaller today than 50 years ago in the 1970s despite a 68% growth in the US population. The number of government contractors, however, has doubled. 

Dismissal emails continue to be sent out to the 13 operating divisions under HHS citing “poor performance,” even though many had just received “outstanding” job reviews. 

Last Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed all federal agencies to terminate those in their probationary period.

Federal employees remain on probation for one to two years after hiring, depending on the position and agency, many of which are highly competitive. Probationary status lacks the benefits of permanent employment, making them easier to remove. Those in probation include recent hires and career staffers who began new positions or were promoted.

Public health experts targeted

“The probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment. Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard,” an OPM spokesperson said in a statement, and as reported by The Hill.

The move is a reversal from an OPM directive just days earlier, when agencies were told to remove probationary employees only if they were poor performers.

The exact number of health professionals has not been released, but the New York Times reports that 1,200 NIH employees were dismissed, and National Public Radio reports that 750 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts received notice of their removal. 

FDA, CMS, CDC see lay-offs, other divisions spared

Emails firing probationary employees were sent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). Staff affected include researchers investigating emerging diseases, such as rabies, dengue, oropouche, and others, reports the Washington Post, in what it called the “Valentine’s Day massacre” of federal layoffs.

Also nixed is the CDC’s Public Health Associate’s Program, which places trainees into local, state, and tribal public health agencies in an effort to alleviate workforce shortages.

Initially, over 1,000 Indian Health Service (IHS) employees received notice of their removal last Friday, reported Native News Online. The IHS provides care to 2.8 million indigenous Americans and Alaska Natives, who suffer disproportionately high rates of diabetes, cancer, COVID-19, and other illnesses.

But later in the evening, the firings were rescinded. The newly confirmed HHS Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, told Native News that he acknowledged that IHS “was chronically understaffed and underfunded.” 

At the CDC, similar turmoil and mixed messaging meant that the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) was potentially facing disbanding last Friday. But the quick public outcry meant that the nation’s deployable “disease detectives” were spared. 

“Efficiency is more than cutting dollars— it’s about improving processes, strengthening infrastructure, and ensuring sustainability – making every dollar work to its fullest potential for Americans,” said Dr Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and founder of Your Local Epidemiologist. “Prevention and early intervention are an investment – often paying 2-60x in return by reducing healthcare costs, improving workforce productivity, and making communities safer.

“There’s room for improvement, but if we want to lose weight, let’s not cut off our legs.”

Even so, this is less than the 10% cuts promised by the administration.

The firings were not unique to public health operations – air traffic controllers at the FAA, TSA agents, and the National Science Foundation were also affected. Some experts have been asked to come back – notably nuclear safety officers – after the new administration realized their work is vital to government operations. The Trump administration is reportedly having trouble reaching these experts.

On Thursday, a federal judge denied a lawsuit filed by unions representing federal workers that OPM is overstepping its authority. The judge said he did not have jurisdiction over the matter as it should be decided by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

For public health experts, the indiscriminate firings are a matter of American public health security. 

“Whether it be at FDA, CDC, NIH, I think those three agencies in particular are going to be severely challenged over the weeks and months ahead,” said Osterholm, in an interview with Health Policy Watch. 

“I don’t think we have any idea yet of just what the breadth of those cuts are going to be or how it happens.”

Dr Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, echoed this sentiment in a statement to NPR, calling the cuts at the CDC “indiscriminate, poorly-thought-out layoffs” that would be “very destructive to the core infrastructure of public health.”

Bird flu response in flux

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which trying to contain the ongoing avian influenza epidemic, has been trying to reach the experts it “accidentally” fired over the weekend.

“Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. 

“USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns over the firings, which are part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s attempts to cut back on government spending.

“They need to be more cautious,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a member of the Agriculture Committee, told NBC News in a statement about the DOGE team. 

“There’s an old saying, ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ Well, they are measuring once and having to cut twice. Some of this stuff they’re going to have to return back. I just wish they’d make a better decision up front.”

Cuts are ‘arbitrary’ 

The public health activities of HHS span overseeing food and drug safety, responding to and containing disease outbreaks, and providing direct healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Americans. 

But critics point to the growing US deficit, which has grown to $1.3 trillion since 2001, as a compelling reason for DOGE to continue cutting the federal workforce. 

DOGE “senior advisor,” billionaire Elon Musk, has said that his goal is to cut federal spending by $2 trillion, out of a $6.75 trillion annual budget in the latest fiscal year. The entrepreneur has made unsubstantiated claims that he has already saved $8 billion.

In reality, the federal workforce has not grown in proportion to the US population. “I understand the need to address the growing deficit problem,” said Osterholm. “But…we should be looking to find ways to strategically and tactically [reduce the deficit], and not just arbitrarily. 

“There’s no real rhyme or reason as to who you’re cutting or why.”

RFK commission to ‘scrutinize childhood vaccine schedules’

Efforts to downsize the nation’s public health workforce come just as new HHS Secretary Robert F  Kennedy Jr, said he was moving forward with plans to create a presidential commission to scrutinize childhood vaccine schedules. 

That commission, part of the overall effort to “Make America Healthy Again” will likely target CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which sets influential vaccine recommendations. 

“Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said in an HHS meeting that was reported by several news outlets. 

“Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized. Childhood vaccine schedule, electromagnetic radiation, glyphosate, other pesticides, ultra-processed foods, artificial food allergies, SSRI [antidepressants] and other psychiatric drugs, PFAS, PFOA, microplastics — nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said on Tuesday. And late Thursday, HHS ordered CDC to halt some vaccine advertisements to emphasize “informed consent.”

His moves come despite promises by the HHS secretary after his confirmation that employees who are “involved in good science” or who “care about public health” have “nothing to worry about.”

Image Credits: CDC, IHS, Charlotte Kesl/ World Bank.