Changes are coming to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump Administration with the recent confirmation of presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., J.D. (RFK Jr.) as Secretary, amid talks of major workforce reductions at HHS agencies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
RFK Jr. and the New MAHA Commission Executive Order
On Thursday, February 13, 2025, RFK Jr., known for his “Make America Healthy Again” (“MAHA”) agenda, was confirmed as HHS Secretary in a 52-48 Senate vote. Shortly after confirmation, he signed President Trump’s executive order, titled, Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, which orders “executive departments and agencies that address health or healthcare,” including agencies responsible for food safety, to “focus on reversing chronic disease.”
The executive order establishes the President’s MAHA Commission, which will be chaired by RFK Jr. as the HHS Secretary, and will include the Secretary of Agriculture (responsible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]), confirmed to be Brooke Rollins, J.D. on February 13; the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (responsible for FDA); and the Director for CDC, among other officials. The MAHA Commission will be given several charges, including, but not limited to:
- Assessing the threat that the potential overuse of certain food ingredients, chemicals, and other exposures pose to children with respect to chronic inflammation or other established mechanisms of disease
- Within 180 days of the executive order, submitting a “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy," based on the aforementioned exposure assessment, which will “address appropriately restructuring the Federal Government’s response to the childhood chronic disease crisis.”
Workforce Reductions at FDA, CDC
Additionally, the Associated Press (AP) reported on February 16 that mass firings were coming to FDA and CDC. According to AP, probationary employees (who have yet to qualify for civil service protections) at FDA received notices that their positions were being eliminated, with a focus on those who staff the agency’s centers for food, medical devices, and tobacco products.
Moreover, insiders told AP that the number of probationary employees to be laid off at CDC would total nearly 1,300, but as of February 16, only 700 people had received notices. CBS News also reported that all of CDC's most recent class of Epidemic Intelligence Services officers, making up nearly half of the agency's "disease detectives," are among those being cut.
In total, approximately 5,200 positions across federal public health agencies are being eliminated, according to Stat.
Also related to jobs in federal agencies overseeing the U.S. food supply, in a February 14 statement from USDA, recently confirmed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins alluded to an “aggressive plan to optimize its workforce by eliminating positions that are no longer necessary” at the agency. As of February 17, probationary employees (who have yet to qualify for civil service protections) in USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Economic Research Service (ERS) have been dismissed.
Update, February 18, 2025: FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods James (Jim) Jones has submitted his resignation, citing 89 "indiscriminate" layoffs in the Human Foods Program that would hinder the effectiveness of the agency.
Update, February 19, 2025: Major public health, food industry, and consumer protection groups have stated concerns about the mass firing of FDA Human Foods Program staff and the resignation of Deputy Commissioner Jones, expressing that layoffs could jeopardize food safety and RFK Jr.’s MAHA agenda.
