Federal employees in mental health and disease control were among targets in weekend firings
October 13, 2025
Federal employees working on mental health services, disease outbreaks and disaster preparedness were among those hit by the Trump administration’s mass firings over the weekend. The president’s government-wide reduction in force effort that began Friday is roiling the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just six months after it went through an earlier round of cuts. Hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were among those impacted, though some of their firings were reversed after what the agency says was a system glitch. An HHS spokesperson said the cuts are part of an effort to “close wasteful and duplicative entities.” The cuts came during the federal government shutdown.