The Trump administration reversed layoff notices for some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff after over 1,000 employees were notified of layoffs amid the current government shutdown, according to multiple reports.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter told several news outlets including The New York Times and Washington Post that those who were notified of layoffs Friday included people on teams on infectious disease outbreaks, science and health data analysis and employee safety.
On Saturday, a federal health official said multiple layoff notices were accidental and were set to be taken back, the Post reported. The New York Times also reported that the federal government’s top two leaders on its measles response team were a part of the people accidentally let go at CDC.
Tensions surrounding the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have already been heightened in recent months with controversy swirling around the firing of a CDC director and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a history of vaccine skepticism.
The Trump administration on Friday laid off over 4,100 employees, according to a Justice Department court filing. In a lawsuit from government unions that was filed prior to the shutdown, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston directed the administration to turn over the information.
The White House budget office also announced Friday that reductions in force (RIFs) were starting after days of threats.
“The RIFs have begun,” Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said in a post on the social platform X.
