President Donald J. Trump selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, encouraging him to pursue bold health initiatives. Kennedy, confirmed in February 2025, has focused sharply on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), labeling it the most corrupt agency within HHS and possibly the entire government.
Mass Staff Reductions Shake Agency
Since January 2025, at least 2,400 CDC employees—representing 18 percent of the staff—have faced dismissal or chosen to resign. Critics argue these moves aim to undermine the nation’s vaccination programs, where the CDC holds a central role.
Interviews with over 40 current and former CDC staff reveal widespread concerns. Many spoke anonymously, citing fears of job loss or administration retaliation. Employees worry that scientists face marginalization, political appointees assume control, and a key public health body transforms into an ideological platform.
Official Defense of Reforms
Andrew Nixon, a department spokesman, stated: “Within a year, Secretary Kennedy restored the CDC on its core mission of fighting infectious disease by eliminating mission creep and replacing leaders who resisted reform.”
Communications Face Strict Controls
An initial order required all agency communications to undergo review before release, halting scientists’ interactions with external partners and even internal teams. Daniel Jernigan, former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, explained: “You had the president and whoever else saying, ‘Stop talking.’ I think what they probably meant was, ‘Don’t engage publicly or in a high-profile way.’ But you had a whole new layer of people with no public health experience, no government experience and no scientific knowledge, and they didn’t know what to do. And so everybody was told: ‘Don’t engage. You can’t even get on the phone.’”
Political appointees now oversee the CDC’s public messaging. Susan A. Wang, a former senior medical adviser in the global immunization division, warned: “We had a very stringent scientific process for vetting information that would get published on the CDC website. Everything was checked and double-checked. And for political appointees to take over the means of communication is devastating, and also dangerous. Now, some things are correct and some are not, which means that you can’t trust any of it.”
