Health Department Primarily Cut Jobs at FDA, CDC: Senate Report

Minority staffers on the Senate Health Committee also found that $815 million in National Institutes of Health grants have been terminated.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington on April 16, 2025. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Most federal health employees fired in the spring worked for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a new report from Democrats on a Senate panel.

Some 2,519 FDA employees and 2,473 CDC employees were fired as part of the reduction in force announced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Senate Health Committee minority report released on May 13 said.