Kennedy tells Congress HHS has rehired another 1,250 workers fired by DOGE
After hasty federal staffing purges from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), healthcare agencies have been rehiring workers. On Tuesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided some details on how his department has been conducting reinstatements.
According to Kennedy, who was speaking before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee—the body in Congress that typically budgets for the Department of Health and Human Services—roughly 1,250 people have recently returned to work.
Specifically, Kennedy said 772 have rejoined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while another 220 are back at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kennedy said around 300 formerly released employees will also be returning to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which researches and regulates potential injuries and diseases common in the workplace.
As to why positions are being re-filled, Kennedy told the committee it was necessary for the agencies to perform their Congressionally designated functions.
“In some cases there have been gaps in our ability to perform our duties,” Kennedy confirmed. “They were doing important work that was critical.”
He added that many of those returning to NIOSH will be working on an initiative to effectuate care delivery for first responders struggling with injury and illness stemming from the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Those funds have already been allocated by previous sessions of Congress.
All the same, Kennedy defended the DOGE layoffs, arguing that most federal jobs being cut were from “redundant administrative offices," many of which were presumably consolidated as part of the “dramatic restructuring” currently ongoing at HHS.
“The people who were let go were people who were not involved in primary care or in delivery of care,” Kennedy said.
However, that claim has been challenged in multiple lawsuits brought by states, unions and municipalities who lament what they see as systemic dysfunction at HHS. The claims in those filings accuse the agency of failing to allocate required resources and funds to state and local governments, which rely on federal government support to pay staff responsible for community health programs.
Those lawsuits are still pending in federal court.
FDA rehires FOIA staff as DOGE faces legal challenge
Not mentioned in Kennedy's testimony were the recent court-ordered reinstatements at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To comply with a federal judge’s order, the FDA in May rehired individuals working to fulfill Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which journalists and academics often file to improve transparency in the federal government.
Before those workers were rehired, a judge had agreed with plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit that the FDA was too slow in responding, in violation of federal law.
The FDA also rehired 300 individuals in February, just weeks after the DOGE layoffs. Those employees are working on medical device approvals, a process that was negatively impacted by the policies of Trump and Musk.
The above stories are still developing as cases work their way through the courts. It’s possible more staffing changes are on the horizon, as restructuring at HHS is facing its own legal challenges, as is the legitimacy of the DOGE downsizings.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.