Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• HHS mass layoffs eliminate public health programs across CDC, FDA, and related agencies — HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr implemented layoffs affecting approximately 10,000 employees (one-quarter of the 82,000-person workforce) on April 1–2, 2025. The cuts eliminated entire divisions and programs including the CDC's infertility expertise branch, the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice (responsible for climate health, lead poisoning, asthma, air quality), the FDA's tobacco policy division, the FDA's media affairs and drug communications teams, and the Administration for Community Living's disability and elderly services. The Mine Safety and Health Administration also sustained cuts affecting coal miner respiratory protection programs. Layoffs occurred with minimal public notice and left Congress uninformed.
• Department of Health and Human Services conducted mass layoffs affecting CDC, NIH, and FDA — The Department of Health and Human Services executed mass layoffs that gutted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 1, 2025. The layoffs significantly reduced capacity at three critical federal health agencies.
• HHS fires thousands of employees across FDA, CDC, and NIH — On April 1, HHS fired thousands of employees, including 3,500 staffers at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 1,200 from the National Institutes of Health. Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf stated that the FDA "as we've known it is finished." The cuts included all employees responsible for handling Freedom of Information Act requests at the CDC and two-thirds of records request staff at the FDA.
• Trump administration implements mass layoffs at Health and Human Services, targeting 8,000–10,000 employees — The Trump administration, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., began laying off thousands of HHS employees on April 1, 2025. Workers across the country were summoned to federal buildings and informed of termination via badge-scan systems. The cuts target 8,000–10,000 positions across multiple agencies, including 3,500 at the FDA, 2,400 at the CDC, 1,200 at the NIH, and 300 at CMS. The restructuring aims to reduce HHS staffing from 82,000 to 62,000 positions, eliminating nearly a quarter of the workforce. Positions in human resources, procurement, finance, IT, and "high cost regions" are prioritized for elimination.
• RFK Jr acknowledges 20% of HHS job cuts were errors; reinstatement process underway — Robert F Kennedy Jr, US health secretary, admitted that approximately 2,000 of the 10,000 jobs cut from the Department of Health and Human Services this week were terminated in error and will be reinstated. The cuts, orchestrated by Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), were intended to target administrative roles but mistakenly eliminated research positions, including CDC programs monitoring lead exposure in children and FDA tobacco policy divisions. Kennedy stated reinstatement was always part of the plan, though specifics on which staff and functions will be restored remain unclear.
• HHS reinstates roughly 20% of fired employees — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters on April 3 that roughly 20% of the 10,000 jobs cut from the HHS were being reinstated, claiming the firings were made in error. The reinstatement of a portion of fired employees suggests the initial cuts were not fully justified.
• Department of Health and Human Services slashed CDC jobs and programs. — On Tuesday (April 1), the Department of Health and Human Services slashed jobs and programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The cuts occurred even as measles continues to spread across the country and two Louisiana infants have died of whooping cough. The timing and scope of the cuts undermined the CDC's capacity to respond to ongoing public health threats.
• Termination of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System team — In April 2025, the entire team behind the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a critical tool for understanding maternal and child health outcomes, was eliminated. The loss of this team has rendered the system non-functional despite the registry remaining nominally in place, disrupting maternal and child health monitoring at state and local levels.
• NIH layoffs of senior researchers in neurological disease research — Senator Dick Durbin detailed to HHS Secretary Kennedy that on April 1, ten laboratory heads at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes—all PhDs and senior investigators—received layoff notices. Science magazine reported 25 of 320 physician researchers at NIH's Internal Clinical Center are leaving, patient numbers in the hospital have been reduced by 30%, and three grants involving ALS and dementia work at Northwestern University in Illinois have been paused. An ALS researcher at Harvard also had his grant cut. When Durbin asked Kennedy about these cuts, Kennedy claimed he had no knowledge of them until Durbin informed him.
• CDC officials overseeing bird flu response fired — On 1 April 2025, several CDC officials overseeing the bird flu (H5N1) response were fired. Following their dismissal, testing of people exposed to sick animals dropped dramatically from approximately 830 people tested by late February to only about 50 people tested afterward, with no positive cases announced. This reduction in surveillance coincided with a broader erosion of pandemic preparedness infrastructure.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration fires thousands of federal workers — The Trump administration has fired thousands of federal workers from agencies responsible for managing public lands, including the US Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. This action has left significant operational gaps, particularly affecting wildfire response and conservation efforts. The firings targeted employees in probationary status, many of whom had dedicated years to public service. The move has sparked concerns about the agencies' ability to manage extreme weather events and has led to fears of increased privatization of public lands. Unions and labor advocates are preparing legal challenges, and legislators are urging the administration to reverse the firings.

Supporting reports

• US Forest Service and National Park Service to fire thousands of workers — The US Forest Service and National Park Service are set to terminate approximately 4,400 employees as part of a federal spending cut initiative under the Trump administration. The layoffs will affect recent hires still in their probationary period, excluding firefighters, law enforcement, and certain meteorologists. This move is part of a broader effort to reduce federal bureaucracy and spending, impacting sites like the Appalachian Trail and Yellowstone. Critics warn of negative consequences for park maintenance and visitor experience due to reduced staffing levels.

Supporting reports

• Executive Order Ending Procurement and Use of Paper Straws — President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14208, directing federal agencies to cease procurement and use of paper straws. The order mandates the development of a national strategy to eliminate policies disfavoring plastic straws and addresses contract policies with entities banning plastic straws. This action revokes a previous order promoting federal sustainability.
• Executive Order to Eliminate the Federal Executive Institute — President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14207 to eliminate the Federal Executive Institute, a program providing leadership training to federal employees. The order directs the Office of Personnel Management to take necessary steps to dismantle the institute, revoking prior documents establishing it. The action aims to refocus government efforts on serving taxpayers and reducing bureaucratic influence.
• Trump issues executive order ending paper straw procurement — President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 10, 2025, directing federal agencies to cease the procurement and use of paper straws. The order mandates the elimination of policies that disfavor plastic straws and requires the development of a national strategy to end the use of paper straws within 45 days. This strategy will address contract policies with entities that ban or penalize plastic straw use and utilize all available tools to implement the policy nationwide. The order aims to reverse previous policies promoting paper straws as part of environmental sustainability efforts.
• Trump issues executive order to eliminate the Federal Executive Institute — President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 10, 2025, to eliminate the Federal Executive Institute, a government program established over 50 years ago to provide leadership training to federal employees. The order directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to take necessary steps to dismantle the institute, citing the need to refocus government efforts on serving taxpayers and reducing the influence of the federal bureaucracy. The order also revokes prior documents establishing the institute, including a 1968 Presidential Memorandum and provisions of Executive Order 11348.
• White House issues fact sheet on elimination of Federal Executive Institute — The White House issued a fact sheet on February 10, 2025, announcing that President Trump signed an executive order to eliminate the Federal Executive Institute. The order directs the Office of Personnel Management to terminate the institute and revoke related documents. The fact sheet characterizes the institute as a wasteful 50-year-old program created during the Johnson administration for bureaucratic leadership training, and notes it operates a resort property in Charlottesville, Virginia formerly used as a luxury hotel.
• White House signed executive order eliminating the Federal Executive Institute — The White House issued an executive order directing the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to eliminate the Federal Executive Institute, a federal leadership training program established in 1968. The order characterizes the institute as a program that has enlarged the "Washington, D.C., managerial class" and states it should be eliminated to refocus government on serving taxpayers and the Constitution rather than the federal bureaucracy. The order revokes prior presidential memoranda and executive orders establishing the institute.