HHS layoffs hit one-fifth of department, sparking court fights

HHS has dismissed about 10,000 employees—on top of 10,000 early retirements already encouraged this year—leaving critical public‑health programs gutted and the agency facing immediate legal fire, according to internal tallies and multiple media reports. The cuts, ordered by President Donald Trump and executed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shrink the workforce to roughly 62,000 and are projected to save $1.8 billion, or just 0.1 % of HHS’s $1.7 trillion budget, the department told AP.

The Guardian reported that entire offices that track lead exposure, smoking, birth defects and maternal mortality were either emptied or placed on “reassignment” lists. Kennedy insists the reorganization will “realign HHS with its core mission,” yet even he conceded that up to 20  percent of the firings were “mistakes.” Nevertheless, officials now say no mass reinstatement is planned, Politico reports.

Congress has also questioned the layoffs, with the Republican chair and Democratic vice‑chair of the Senate HELP Committee asking Kennedy to testify next week, citing concerns that Congress‑created programs cannot be dismantled unilaterally. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order blocking HHS from yanking more than $11 billion in pandemic‑era public‑health grants, calling the move “arbitrary,” as reported by Axios.

State attorneys general from 23 states argue in court filings that the reduction‑in‑force and funding claw‑backs violate both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s separation‑of‑powers doctrine. Their lawsuit follows a separate AG coalition that sued earlier in the week over disrupted opioid‑response grants.

Inside the agency, morale has cratered. Some staff learned of their fate when security badges failed; others were laid off and then told to keep working until replacements are found, according to interviews with NPR.

“It’s a bloodbath,” one senior CDC scientist said, warning the country’s disease‑tracking capacity is “on life support.”