The Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday it plans to cut 10,000 full-time employees, marking one of the most dramatic shakeups of the federal health apparatus in decades. The cuts, directed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will affect core agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health.
The reductions follow the voluntary departure of roughly 10,000 employees since the start of President Trump's second term, bringing the total workforce reduction to about 25%. The agency will shrink from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time staff. HHS said the restructuring is intended to streamline operations and refocus the nearly $2 trillion department on Kennedy's public health priorities, including the elimination of chronic disease and environmental toxins.
"We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic," Kennedy said in a statement. "This Department will do more - a lot more - at a lower cost to the taxpayer."
The cuts are expected to save the federal government approximately $1.8 billion annually. Federal spending in fiscal year 2024 totaled about $6.8 trillion.
Specific agency reductions include:
- FDA: 3,500 jobs cut, approximately 19% of staff
- CDC: 2,400 jobs cut, around 18% of workforce
- NIH: 1,200 jobs cut, or 6% of its personnel
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: 300 jobs cut, around 4% of employees
The overhaul includes a consolidation of HHS's 28 divisions into 15, the creation of a new Administration for a Healthy America, and a reduction in regional offices from 10 to five. "We will eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments, while preserving their core functions," Kennedy wrote in a post on X.
Kennedy, a longtime critic of pharmaceutical companies and federal regulators, has pledged to root out what he calls "corporate corruption" within health agencies. Before his confirmation, he warned FDA personnel who obstructed controversial treatments to "pack their bags." He is also reviewing the childhood vaccine schedule and is reportedly preparing to overhaul advisory panels involved in vaccine approvals.
The reorganization comes amid renewed public health threats, including a growing measles outbreak-the largest in more than two decades-and the spread of avian flu among poultry and U.S. dairy cattle, with several human cases confirmed.
HHS has said the delivery of essential services will continue uninterrupted, though health experts warn that deep staffing reductions could hamper the agency's ability to respond to future public health crises. The department oversees vaccine regulation, scientific research, disease surveillance, and government-backed insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" platform prioritizes prevention through environmental and nutritional changes. "This overhaul will improve the health of the entire nation," he wrote on social media, framing the changes as a step toward long-term wellness through reduced dependence on pharmaceutical interventions.
