Protect Public Health: Oppose HHS Workforce and Program Cuts (UPDATED 4/17)

Update

April 17, 2025: A leaked Office of Management and Budget proposal for HHS cuts indicates the Trump administration intends to slash HHS funding by over 30%, completely eliminating funding for crucial public health services and programs like HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Trump administration is decimating our nation’s federal public health infrastructure at a devastating pace, making sweeping cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS is an umbrella agency tasked with protecting the health of all Americans. It includes critical agencies like the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Trump team has initiated sudden layoffs of 10,000 HHS workers, and have shuttered entire programs without concrete plans to replace the services they provide.

These attacks on HHS directly endanger our nation’s health. The HHS office that helps senior centers distribute 216 million meals a year lost 40% of its staff. The entirety of the Division of Energy Assistance, whose LIHEAP program helps 5.9 million low-income households pay utility bills, has been laid off. Dozens of HHS employees who administer early childhood education programs for low-income children are out of work, threatening Head Start funding and operations. And, of course, these cuts erode public health capacity to reduce infectious disease, research cures for diseases like cancer, monitor and respond to emerging illnesses, and ensure food and medication safety and quality.

Congress must vocally oppose these cuts and demand HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. justify his plans for this destructive HHS reorganization. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has requested a hearing with the Secretary for the week of April 7th.