Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies, sources say

An FDA employee says staff had to present their badges at the building entrance and those who were fired received a ticket, a source says

Marty Makary, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, attends a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Senate Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura

The Trump administration fired staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, as it embarked on its plan to cut 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

An FDA employee said staff had to present their badges at the building entrance and those who had been fired were given a ticket and told to return home, according to one source.

At the CDC, fired staff worked at National Center for Environmental Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, according to the second source.

Officials at the US Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately available for comment.

The cuts are part of a wide plan by President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink staffing levels in federal departments and agencies.