Dem
47
GOP
53
Many people thought the worst thing Robert Kennedy Jr. would do as secretary of HHS was ban vaccines. He might yet get around to that, but he is starting out by firing 10,000 people. That is in addition to the 10,000 who took "voluntary" retirement to avoid being fired. But the net result is that HHS now has 20,000 fewer workers than it had in January. That is one-quarter of its entire workforce, which will drop from 82,000 people to 62,000. When a just-fired HHS worker confronted Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) and said his firing was illegal, Banks said to the people around him: "He probably deserved it."
Some people were fired by e-mail Tuesday. Others showed up for work, were told they were fired, had their badges confiscated, and told to return home as they were no longer needed. Many were from agencies that focused on helping older adults, people with disabilities, HIV, and improving health outcomes in minority communities. What do those groups have in common? Hmmmmm...
Experts have said that the cuts will make the country less safe from infectious and chronic diseases. Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said: "We cannot do the complex and serious work of protecting Americans from infectious diseases amid this chaos and confusion." Of course, billionaires are immune to infectious diseases due to the wall of money around them, so this is of no interest to them. At least, that's what they were told.
The cuts hit many agencies within HHS, including the FDA, CDC, NIH, and others. Kennedy said: "We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic." He didn't explain how firing doctors, scientists, and others who study chronic diseases will help the new mission. (V)