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Trump dismantles, cuts and shakes up world of health in first 100 days

12 41
29.04.2025

President Trump's first 100 days has roiled health and science as part of the administration's plan to reshape the federal government.

Agencies have been disbanded; thousands of jobs have been eliminated; and billions of dollars for biomedical research have either been clawed back or stopped completely.

Here are some of the most prominent ways Trump has made his mark on health.

HHS is getting 10,000 job cuts

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency has been gutting federal agencies in the name of cost savings. HHS hasn’t been immune, in perhaps the most striking example of the administration’s changes.

Early in the morning of April 1, layoff notices began arriving for employees across all parts of the sprawling agency.

In total, as many as 10,000 jobs were expected to be eliminated—though agency officials couldn’t give congressional staff a clear number during a briefing earlier this month, illustrating the speed at which the layoffs were conducted.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was among the hardest hit of all agencies targeted by DOGE, losing nearly 20 percent of its workforce.

The top officials overseeing new drug reviews and tobacco safety were ousted, as well as researchers studying ways to reduce prescription drug costs. Scientists looking for contaminants in drugs were laid off, as were several dozen food safety scientists, though these officials have been subsequently rehired.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cut senior infectious disease officials, as well as researchers working in the Division of HIV Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

HHS has set a June 2 deadline to complete the cuts, including rehiring anyone who may have been laid off by mistake — though any rehiring is happening on a case-by-case basis.

Massive funding changes

The Trump administration has made a concentrated effort to purge any program or funding opportunity that promotes, or seems to promote, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Officials have eliminated grants to public and private universities that were being........

© The Hill