Culture Editor
Since he was appointed Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made waves in the transition to the second Trump Administration. In March, Kennedy slashed his department by 20,000 employees, firing half and urging the rest to leave, bringing his workforce down to just 62,000.
These terminations continued into October, when the HHS issued more than 1,000 dismissal notices primarily to employees within the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Officials rescinded an estimated 700 of these notices, attributing them to a computer glitch, while others remained authorized.
Unsurprisingly, the cuts met fierce opposition. US District Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary court order restricting the termination notices. amid the increasingly heated debate between the government and unions representing HHS workers. Union organizations such as the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union filed lawsuits advocating on their members’ behalf.
30 members of the US Senate, including Bernie Sanders, minority leader Charles Schumer, and Patricia Murray, shared their support for the unions’ fight in writing. Addressed to Kennedy, their letter expressed their concern over the moves’ effect on the public’s health, noting, “The Department is choosing to do this, further putting Americans’ health and well-being at risk,” and asserting that the firings are “in clear violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, among other federal laws.”
Supporters of the layoffs cite the ongoing government shutdown, attempts to increase efficiency in the department, and the effort President Trump announced he is taking to start “cutting Democrat programs.” The Trump Administration depicted the cuts as a small part of the larger plan to “Make America Healthy Again,” a play on Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The terminations are not the only controversial move Secretary Kennedy has made in the past months; Kennedy and the Trump Administration claimed that acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, may be linked to autism when used during pregnancy. Medical professionals thoroughly criticized his claim as contradictory to widespread scientific research and thought on the drug. Kennedy has also commented on vaccines in the past, implying they are dangerous, saying, “No vaccine is safe and effective” on a podcast during his run for president in 2024. Experts have denounced this statement, citing its lack of scientific evidence.
Support for the HHS seems to be waning, with a Kaiser Family Foundation poll finding that Americans’ trust in the CDC is as low as during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current firings might be representative of what is to come for other departments.
(Sources: CNN, Pennsylvania Independent, Yahoo News)
Categories: National