Hollywood News
Trump administration lays off dozens of disease detectives and scientists
Late Friday, dozens of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including “disease detectives,” top scientists and the entire Washington office, were notified they would lose their jobs as part of the Trump administration’s latest round of federal layoffs. New York Times.
As of Friday, the number of CDC employees affected remains unclear. But the agency faced another setback following widespread resignations, an August shooting at its Atlanta headquarters and the firing of its director under pressure from Surgeon General Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
According to the NYT, layoff notices arrived in CDC employees’ email inboxes shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, informing employees that their duties were deemed unnecessary or “nearly identical” to duties performed elsewhere in the agency. Those affected included scientists, including leaders working in offices related to respiratory disease, chronic disease, injury prevention and global health.
“The staff of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the magazine that reports on health trends and emerging infectious threats, was also laid off. The publication’s storied history includes a June 1981 report that five previously healthy gay men were treated for an unusual pneumonia, the first hint of the AIDS epidemic.”
As of Friday, the number of CDC employees affected remains unclear. But the agency faced another setback following widespread resignations, an August shooting at its Atlanta headquarters and the firing of its director under pressure from Surgeon General Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
According to the NYT, layoff notices arrived in CDC employees’ email inboxes shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, informing employees that their duties were deemed unnecessary or “nearly identical” to duties performed elsewhere in the agency. Those affected included scientists, including leaders working in offices related to respiratory disease, chronic disease, injury prevention and global health.
“The staff of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the magazine that reports on health trends and emerging infectious threats, was also laid off. The publication’s storied history includes a June 1981 report that five previously healthy gay men were treated for an unusual pneumonia, the first hint of the AIDS epidemic.”
About 70 Epidemic Intelligence Service officers (so-called “disease detectives” who respond to outbreaks around the world) have received layoff notices, the NYT said, citing a person familiar with them. The service was spared during earlier layoffs in February.
The layoffs at the CDC are part of broader federal government cuts aimed at fulfilling President Trump’s promise to use the shutdown to reduce the size of government. The firings represent the latest in a tumultuous year for the nation’s public health agency, which has long been the focus of Kennedy’s scrutiny.
