1. United States
2. Idaho
3. Letter

Please explain to me how this is a good thing! Mass layoffs hit thousands of employees across HHS overnight, upending a generation of the federal public health civil service. Many FDA, CDC, NIH and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health employees were affected. At the FDA, Peter Stein and the Office of New Drugs were axed, top tobacco regulator Brian King was put on leave, and Office of Strategic Programs and leader Sridhar Mantha were cut. The top veterinarian working on bird flu was pushed out, Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Jeanne Marrazzo was let go. “H.I.V. prevention was a big target overall,”. At least four of 27 NIH institute/center directors were put on leave. Some senior staffers “were offered a possible transfer to the Indian Health Service in locations including Alaska and given until end of Wednesday to respond.” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has framed the cuts as an essential step to shrink a bloated federal government and cut out regulators who are too friendly with Big Pharma. Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf warned on LinkedIn today, “The FDA as we’ve known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed. I believe that history will see this [as] a huge mistake.”