Just days after pink slips began landing across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has admitted that nearly one in five of the recent job cuts were erroneous — and that thousands of affected federal employees may soon be reinstated.
The sweeping layoffs, announced as part of the Trump administration’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) initiative, were aimed at drastically reducing the federal health workforce. Around 10,000 positions have already been eliminated, with further cuts expected to shrink HHS’s workforce from 82,000 to just over 60,000. But now, RFK Jr. says about 20% of those dismissals, or roughly 2,000 workers, shouldn’t have happened.
“Some people who were not supposed to be cut, were,” Kennedy told reporters during a visit to Virginia on Thursday. “We’re reinstating them. And that was always the plan. We expected some margin of error.”
The admission marks a stark shift from last week’s firm stance when Kennedy defended the layoffs as part of an overdue purge of government “bloat” and bureaucratic inefficiency. However, criticism has intensified amid revelations that essential public health roles — not just administrative jobs — were swept up in the cuts.
One notable casualty was an entire CDC program dedicated to monitoring lead poisoning in children, which Kennedy acknowledged was terminated by mistake. He said efforts are now underway to restore such programs and bring key personnel back into the fold.
The restructuring initiative is being overseen by Elon Musk, Trump’s high-profile adviser, who has championed aggressive downsizing across federal departments. Under the DOGE plan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was tasked with eliminating around 3,500 positions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2,400, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 1,200.
Some FDA workers who received layoff notices, particularly in the inspections and investigations division, have since been asked to return temporarily while their roles are reassessed.
Despite growing concerns about the human and public health impact of the cuts, Kennedy has reiterated that the overall goal is unchanged: streamline HHS operations and eliminate redundancy across its 13 agencies, which collectively operate under a $1.8 trillion annual budget.
Still, the rollback has sparked confusion and protests among both union leaders and health experts, who argue that the firings have disproportionately impacted scientific and research-focused staff. Critics have warned that eliminating such roles in haste, only to reverse course shortly after, underscores the lack of foresight behind the restructuring.
The public, meanwhile, remains torn. While many support efforts to trim government waste, the apparent missteps and lack of clarity around who was targeted — and why — have raised concerns that essential health services could suffer in the name of efficiency.
At the moment, it remains unclear exactly which additional programs may be reinstated, or how many workers will ultimately be called back. The Department of Health and Human Services has not yet issued an official list of positions under review.
The sweeping layoffs, announced as part of the Trump administration’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) initiative, were aimed at drastically reducing the federal health workforce. Around 10,000 positions have already been eliminated, with further cuts expected to shrink HHS’s workforce from 82,000 to just over 60,000. But now, RFK Jr. says about 20% of those dismissals, or roughly 2,000 workers, shouldn’t have happened.
“Some people who were not supposed to be cut, were,” Kennedy told reporters during a visit to Virginia on Thursday. “We’re reinstating them. And that was always the plan. We expected some margin of error.”
The admission marks a stark shift from last week’s firm stance when Kennedy defended the layoffs as part of an overdue purge of government “bloat” and bureaucratic inefficiency. However, criticism has intensified amid revelations that essential public health roles — not just administrative jobs — were swept up in the cuts.
One notable casualty was an entire CDC program dedicated to monitoring lead poisoning in children, which Kennedy acknowledged was terminated by mistake. He said efforts are now underway to restore such programs and bring key personnel back into the fold.
The restructuring initiative is being overseen by Elon Musk, Trump’s high-profile adviser, who has championed aggressive downsizing across federal departments. Under the DOGE plan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was tasked with eliminating around 3,500 positions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2,400, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 1,200.
Some FDA workers who received layoff notices, particularly in the inspections and investigations division, have since been asked to return temporarily while their roles are reassessed.
Despite growing concerns about the human and public health impact of the cuts, Kennedy has reiterated that the overall goal is unchanged: streamline HHS operations and eliminate redundancy across its 13 agencies, which collectively operate under a $1.8 trillion annual budget.
Still, the rollback has sparked confusion and protests among both union leaders and health experts, who argue that the firings have disproportionately impacted scientific and research-focused staff. Critics have warned that eliminating such roles in haste, only to reverse course shortly after, underscores the lack of foresight behind the restructuring.
The public, meanwhile, remains torn. While many support efforts to trim government waste, the apparent missteps and lack of clarity around who was targeted — and why — have raised concerns that essential health services could suffer in the name of efficiency.
At the moment, it remains unclear exactly which additional programs may be reinstated, or how many workers will ultimately be called back. The Department of Health and Human Services has not yet issued an official list of positions under review.
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