In a seismic shakeup, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has terminated over 600 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), finalizing mass layoffs announced in April 2025. The firings, affecting staff across divisions like Violence Prevention and Equal Employment Opportunity, follow Kennedy’s pledge to curb “bureaucratic sprawl” and refocus the agency on chronic disease prevention, saving taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion annually. The move comes just two weeks after a deadly shooting at the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters, where a gunman fired 500 rounds, killing a police officer.
Kennedy, a vocal vaccine skeptic, has drawn fierce criticism for the layoffs, with the American Federation of Government Employees arguing they exacerbate trauma from the attack. A letter from over 750 current and former HHS employees accused Kennedy of fueling mistrust and violence against public health workers through inflammatory rhetoric. Affected roles include those tackling infectious diseases like bird flu and environmental hazards. A Rhode Island federal judge recently limited the layoffs, protecting six CDC divisions, but the cuts proceeded for others.
Supporters praise Kennedy’s aggressive reforms as a necessary purge of inefficiencies, while critics, including former CDC Director Tom Frieden, warn they undermine public health infrastructure. The firings align with Kennedy’s broader overhaul, including ousting the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel. As legal challenges loom, the controversy highlights deep divisions over the future of U.S. health policy.
