The Trump administration has begun slashing the size of the FDA’s workforce as of last weekend, firing employees whose responsibilities were to review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices, and other products.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees NIH, FDA, and the CDC, has been hit hard by these cuts. As of early afternoon on Feb. 16, “about 700 people had received notices” that they were being laid off. Probationary employees are the ones being laid off en masse.
Newly sworn-in HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made the FDA a target, “accusing the agency of waging a ‘war on public health’ for not approving unproven treatments such as psychedelics, stem cells, and chelation therapy.” Ironically, the cuts at FDA “include staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients,” even as Kennedy has “called for eliminating thousands of chemicals and colorings from U.S. foods.”
A former FDA official fears that cutting specifically recent hires could “backfire, eliminating staffers who tend to be younger and have more up-to-date technical skills.” Peter Pitts, an FDA associate commissioner under President George W. Bush, said that “you want people with new ideas, greater enthusiasm, and the latest thinking in terms of technology” in the agency.
Administration officials have insisted that these firings did not contradict their stated principles to “exempt employees in core areas, like those working on Medicare and Medicaid and emergency preparedness.” Officials who were terminated include Arielle Kane, who was “working on a Medicaid pilot program active in 15 states aimed at improving maternal health outcomes — an area where the U.S. has long lagged behind other countries. Another just-fired CMMI employee, granted anonymity for fear of reprisal, worked on enhancing care for Medicare Advantage enrollees.”
Matt MacKenzie | Associate Editor
Matt is Associate Editor for Healthcare Purchasing News.
