Federal employees in mental health and disease control were among targets in weekend firings

By ALI SWENSON and JONEL ALECCIA NEW YORK AP Hundreds of federal employees working on mental strength services disorder outbreaks and catastrophe preparedness were among those hit by the Trump administration s mass firings over the weekend current and laid-off workers commented Monday as the administration aimed to pressure Democratic lawmakers to give in and end the nearly two-week-long leadership shutdown Related Articles This shutdown feels different Specific worry states might not get repaid when establishment reopens Instruction Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special development and civil rights enforcement Stricter visa rules have Colorado employers that rely on foreign workers scrambling Air traffic controllers who duck unpaid work during the shutdown could be fired Duffy warns Qatari facility to be built in Idaho Defense Secretary Hegseth says The government-wide reduction-in-force initiative that began Friday roiled the massive U S Department of Fitness and Human Services just six months after it went through an earlier round of cuts and as plenty of staffers already were disconnected from work because of the shutdown The situation turned even more chaotic over the weekend when more than half of the U S Centers for Ailment Control and Prevention employees who d gotten layoff notices learned they received them in error and were still employed with the agency HHS through its agencies is responsible for tracking wellness trends and affection outbreaks conducting and funding curative research and monitoring the safety of food and medicine as well as for administering robustness insurance programs for nearly half the country Among the HHS agencies facing staff cuts were the CDC the Substance Abuse and Mental Medical Services Administration or SAMHSA and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response or ASPR according to current and laid-off employees who spoke with The Associated Press Former staffers and physical condition professionals stated they were concerned the layoffs could have negative soundness impacts and make it hard for HHS agencies to fulfill their obligations set by Congress HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon disclosed the laid off employees were deemed nonessential He added the agency is working to close wasteful and duplicative entities including those that are at odds with the Trump administration s Make America Healthy Again agenda Nixon declined to share which HHS agencies saw layoffs or how a multitude of HHS employees were affected However a Friday court filing from the Trump administration gave an estimate saying about to of the nearly staffers at HHS were receiving dismissal notices CDC is hit with layoffs and reversals About workers at the CDC remained fired Monday in conjunction with the federal administration shutdown after hundreds more had originally been targeted according to the American Federation of Regime Employees Local which represents CDC employees in Atlanta Of more than CDC employees who received reduction-in-force notices Friday about later received emails revoking their terminations the union disclosed The AFGE Local called the action a politically-motivated stunt to illegally fire agency workers These reckless actions are disrupting and destroying the lives of everyday working people who are constantly being used as bargaining chips AFGE President Yolanda Jacobs declared in a declaration Monday A federal robustness official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media disclosed the incorrect RIF notices resulted from a glitch in the system Among those targeted for dismissal and then reinstated were the CDC s Epidemic Intelligence Provision officers the condition detectives who are deployed to respond to outbreaks that threaten population physical condition declared Dr Anne Schuchat former principal deputy director of the CDC who commented she was in touch with EIS officers in that situation These are people who go into really scary places Schuchat stated Usually you think it s nature that s going to be giving you a hard time the viruses not the executive Mental healthcare services cut in sweeping dismissals at agency SAMHSA an agency within HHS devoted to addressing mental illness and addiction also saw cuts according to two employees of the agency with knowledge of the layoffs who weren t authorized to speak publicly While the full scope of the firings wasn t clear particular of the departments affected included the agency s Office of Communications and the Center for Mental Fitness Services where dozens were let go from multiple areas according to one of the employees Within CMHS one of two branches that oversaw millions of dollars in grants for neighborhood wellness clinics was mostly terminated the employees reported Dakota Jablon a populace soundness analyst and former employee of SAMHSA noted the loss of more staff at SAMHSA primarily a grantmaking agency would have devastating ripple effects across the behavioral vitality field Even if the grants continue the loss of experienced staff means those who remain will be stretched far too thin often outside their areas of expertise she explained Dr Eric Rafla-Yuan a psychiatrist and the chair of the Committee to Protect Residents Mental Vitality noted staff cuts at SAMHSA could put state safety nets for people with mental illness at peril because the agency provides vital funding and aid to state programs Latest layoffs build on earlier cuts as HHS looks to restructure The mass layoffs come six months after thousands of researchers scientists doctors promotion staff and senior leaders were either laid off from HHS or took early retirement or volunteer separation offers The department s staff was listed at just under employees in a contingency plan before the ruling body shutdown began down more than from its staffing level earlier in the year The cuts are part of Wellness Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr s sweeping effort to remake the department by consolidating agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and neighborhood fitness centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America The plan has been delayed amid ongoing law and congressional pushback Aleccia informed from Southern California AP healthcare writer Mike Stobbe contributed to this account