WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired.
Probationary employees across the FDA received notices Saturday evening that their jobs were being eliminated, according to three FDA staffers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The total number of positions eliminated was not clear Sunday, but the firings appeared to focus on employees in the agency’s centers for food, medical devices and tobacco products — which includes oversight of electronic cigarettes. It was not clear whether FDA employees who review drugs were exempted.
On Friday, some officials expected the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fire 5,200 probationary employees across its agencies, according to an audio recording of a National Institutes of Health department meeting. HHS oversees NIH, FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among other things.
People who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity on Friday said the number of probationary employees to be laid off at the CDC would total nearly 1,300. But as of early Sunday afternoon, about 700 people had received notices, according to three people who spoke on condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. They said none of the CDC layoffs affected the young doctors and researchers who track diseases in what’s known as the Epidemic Intelligence Service.
The FDA is headquartered in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington and employs nearly 20,000 people. It’s long been a target of newly sworn-in health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who last year accused the agency of waging a “war on public health” for not approving unproven treatments such as psychedelics, stem cells and chelation therapy.
Kennedy also has called for eliminating thousands of chemicals and colorings from U.S. foods. But the cuts at FDA include staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients, according to an FDA staffer familiar with the firings.
An HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.
Nearly half of the FDA’s $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by companies the agency regulates, including drug and medical device makers, which allows the agency to hire extra scientists to swiftly review products. Eliminating those positions will not reduce government spending.
A former FDA official said cutting recent hires could backfire, eliminating staffers who tend to be younger and have more up-to-date technical skills. The FDA’s workforce skews toward older workers who have spent one or two decades at the agency, and the Government Accountability Office noted in 2022 that the FDA “has historically faced challenges in recruiting and retaining” staff due to better money in the private sector.
“You want to bring in new blood,” said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner under President George W. Bush. “You want people with new ideas, greater enthusiasm and the latest thinking in terms of technology.”
Mitch Zeller, former FDA director for tobacco, said the firings are a way to “demoralize and undermine the spirit of the federal workforce.”
“The combined effect of what they’re trying to do is going to destroy the ability to recruit and retain talent,” Zeller said.
The FDA’s inspection force has been particularly strained in recent years after a wave of departures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of the agency’s current inspectors are recent hires. It was not immediately clear whether those employees were exempted.
FDA inspectors are responsible for overseeing thousands of food, drug, tobacco and medical device facilities worldwide, though the AP reported last year that the agency faced a backlog of roughly 2,000 uninspected drug facilities that hadn’t been visited since before the pandemic.
The agency’s inspection force has also been criticized for not moving faster to catch recent problems involving infant formula, baby food and eyedrops.
Now, questions are swirling over whether cuts in federal agencies will be felt by everyday Americans.
“It’s nerve-wracking,” said Jacksonville resident Matt Hansen. “Especially when you’re done breastfeeding and [have] nothing left to feed them.”
He notes that things have improved since that tumultuous period of time.
But products like baby formula, baby food, and eye drops have all suffered from backlog in recent years and FDA inspectors have been criticized for a backlog, which is a primary reason why potential cuts by Elon Musk at the Department of Government Efficiency will be watched closely at FDA, particularly for things like FDA inspectors, many of whom left the agency after COVID.
AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.