Probational Worker Several federal health agencies at the Department of Health and Human Services received virtually identical letters on Saturday evening informing them that they would be fired from their position, a source told CBS News.
“Unfortunately, the agency has discovered that your abilities, knowledge and skills are not suitable for ongoing employment as they do not meet the current needs of the institution. CBS News.
The letter was signed by Jeffrey Anoka, Director of Human Resources at the Department of Health and Human Services. One health official said thousands of letters were sent to CBS News on Saturday.
Probable workers are generally less than a year at work and are more likely to fire than other federal staff.
CBS News
Movement comes inside Government-wide efforts Reduce probation workers with Government Efficiency Task Forceor Doge led by billionaire Elon Musk.
More than 5,000 probation workers from the health agency were initially scheduled to be let go, but not all were fired on Saturday. Some letters were also mistakenly sent to people who were not intended to let go, officials said.
Additionally, some agencies are granted exemptions for some of the staff at the Chopping Block.
Also, the final list of cuts ordered by the Trump administration is learned by CBS News, the CDC’s epidemic intelligence agency. Officials overseeing the fellowship initially warned the health department and people in their ranks that it would be halved.
Fellowship programs elsewhere at the agency weren’t that lucky. Officials said the CDC’s public health associates program, which has recently graduated to health departments across the country, has been cut.
Other agencies that lost staff on Saturday include the country’s pandemic stockpile, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the administration for strategic preparation and response, overseeing the National Institutes of Health.
White House officials said workers who were exempt from the cuts on Saturday include scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, Medicare workers and frontline healthcare providers.
“This is not a coincidence effort of someone who is x people who can ‘run’ for it.’ This is a calculated effort to streamline bureaucracy,” the official said.
Calley means advisor Newly sworn in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended fire for reasons beyond cost savings, and officials have done enough to be a driver of US life expectancy during President Trump’s presidential election. He repeatedly criticized the fact that there was none.
“It would be unreasonable not to make any changes,” he wrote in a post to X.
The FDA said on Saturday that scientists, engineers and lawyers were among those fired from regulatory ranks late Saturday.
The cuts include some of the FDA, which were primarily funded from fees companies pay when submitting applications rather than taxpayer dollars, such as centers that oversee regulations on tobacco products and medical devices. Ta.
The tolls given by this week’s cut are growing beyond probation workers and peers. Many contractors with less protection than agency staff were suddenly told this week that they were being let go.
One former CDC contractor is one of two people in a small team of Atlanta-based agents and how they run a project to analyze electronic health records for disease surveillance He said he knew.
The only person who knew how to use the project was a CDC employee still on probation.
“I’m worried that they’ll be covered in work and ending a lot of projects. While I was there, the projects were already beginning to fall,” the former CDC contractor said.
Many scientists spoke to by CBS News said they uprooted their lives for the opportunity to serve the federal government. Others were on probation for staff roles after working for many years at the same agency as the contractor.
One former National Institute of Health Sciences reassured at a tearful meeting with the supervisor on Friday, reassuring that the decision had nothing to do with their performance, and that they had been hired. He said he praised the progress.
“I can’t put words into how financially I’m screwed,” said the former NIH scientist.
