HHS Staff Still Distrust RFK Jr. After 20,000 DOGE-Era Job Cuts
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 13
HHS Staff Still Distrust RFK Jr. After 20,000 DOGE-Era Job Cuts
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 13
Summary
More than a dozen HHS employees and contractors told POLITICO that Kennedy’s team has softened its rhetoric and resumed hiring, but distrust remains entrenched after last year’s upheaval.
20,000 health department workers were bought out or fired in the DOGE downsizing, and staff say fear of retaliation, policy whiplash and ideological interference still shape daily work.
CDC, FDA and NIH workers described some stabilization — including friendlier leadership, media briefings on outbreaks and promises to restore staffing — yet said scientific communications, vaccine policy and grant reviews remain vulnerable to political pressure.
At NIH, grant processing has slowed sharply after January changes reduced reliance on peer-review scores and expanded screening for diversity-related language; a New York Times analysis found new research spending running about $1 billion behind past years.
Trump’s broader push to reclassify thousands of civil servants as easier-to-fire employees, along with continued efforts to narrow childhood vaccine recommendations, has reinforced staff doubts that the gentler tone reflects a lasting operational shift.