The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is rehiring more than 450 previously fired employees across multiple divisions within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to an HHS official familiar with the matter. This move is part of a broader effort to reassess and refine the workforce following the Trump administration’s initial reduction in force, which led to significant layoffs at various health agencies.
The rehired workers come from four different divisions within the CDC: the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention (NCHHSTP), the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), the Immediate Office of the Director (IOD), and the CDC’s Global Health Center (GHC). NCHHSTP will see the greatest number of its workers rehired, with 214 returning. This division includes the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, which was cut in half by the Trump administration. NCEH will see the next greatest number of returned employees, with 158 coming back. This division includes the ‘Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice,’ which was initially eliminated as part of the Trump administration’s reforms.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explained that while 80% of the cuts were necessary, 20% were errors, and these employees would be reinstated. The rehiring is part of a broader effort to ensure critical public health functions remain intact. The Trump administration’s initial reduction in force, which included as many as 10,000 layoffs at various health agencies, is now being addressed through rehiring efforts. This is not an isolated action, as the Internal Revenue Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the State Department, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have also taken steps to rehire employees, as reported by the Washington Post.
“Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, the nation’s critical public health functions remain intact and effective,” said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon. “The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services—whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases.” Nixon emphasized that HHS is streamlining operations without compromising mission-critical work, highlighting the importance of enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans as their top priority.