Dozens of employees were dismissed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) late Friday, as the Trump Administration fulfilled its promise to initiate widespread firings in response to a prolonged government shutdown.
The layoffs specifically targeted leaders within departments dedicated to respiratory diseases, chronic diseases, injury prevention, and global health, as reported by the New York Times. Approximately 70 Epidemic Intelligence Service officers, often known as “disease detectives,” the entire staff and editors of the CDC’s publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and the agency’s Washington office all received notification of their termination, according to the report.
This action comes as the agency continues to struggle from months of uncertainty following an internal review and restructuring efforts under new Health and Human Services (HHS) head Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, stated that Friday’s job cuts would deliver a fatal blow to an agency already severely weakened by prior reductions under Kennedy’s leadership.
“The CDC will have lost its capacity to identify and respond to outbreaks. It will no longer be able to monitor diseases, both within America and globally. This encompasses infectious threats such as flu, foodborne illnesses, and Ebola, as well as chronic conditions and injuries,” she elaborated.
Rasmussen further noted that the discontinuation of the MMWR would eliminate the CDC’s means of communicating with the public.
“Collectively, this signifies that the CDC is non-functional. It cannot fulfill any part of its mission,” she asserted. “America no longer possesses a national public health agency.”
Other medical professionals, including Georgia State Representative and anesthesiologist Michelle Au, cautioned that the U.S. is “heading into respiratory season—when viruses such as flu, COVID, and RSV proliferate—without adequate oversight.”
The CDC did not provide a comment when approached by TIME.
This development occurs at a time when the nation’s primary public health agency has endured successive setbacks, ranging from a tragic shooting incident at its Atlanta headquarters to Kennedy’s dismissal of former CDC director, Susan Monarez.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had previously directed federal agencies to prepare for reductions in force (RIFs) should a government shutdown occur, triggered by a dispute concerning the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The primary disagreement between the two political parties stems from a Democratic demand to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for low- and middle-income Americans, which are slated to expire by year-end.
The White House and Republicans have attempted to attribute blame for the shutdown to Democratic leaders, with President Donald Trump telling reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the firings would specifically target those considered “Democrat-oriented.”
“These are largely individuals favored by Democrats, and many of them will be dismissed,” Trump stated. “It will be a significant number.”
These mass dismissals come just two months after a wave of high-ranking officials resigned from the CDC in August. They reportedly felt compelled to leave after Kennedy marginalized officials and disregarded scientific research and protocols since assuming his role to lead the department.
“Having served in local and national public health for years, I have never encountered such extreme lack of transparency, nor have I witnessed such clumsy manipulation of data to achieve a political objective rather than serving the welfare of the American populace,” stated the CDC’s former vaccine chief, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, in his resignation letter.
In a Senate hearing following her removal by Kennedy, former director Monarez recounted contentious meetings with the HHS head. She stated that he referred to the CDC as “the most corrupt federal agency” in the government and instructed her to terminate vaccine scientists without justification.
“My dismissal was a consequence of upholding scientific integrity,” Monarez affirmed.
