Changes are coming to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump Administration with the recent confirmation of presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., J.D. (RFK Jr.) as Secretary, amid talks of major workforce reductions at HHS agencies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

RFK Jr. and the New MAHA Commission Executive Order

On Thursday, February 13, 2025, RFK Jr., known for his “Make America Healthy Again” (“MAHA”) agenda, was confirmed as HHS Secretary in a 52-48 Senate vote. Shortly after confirmation, he signed President Trump’s executive order, titled, Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, which orders “executive departments and agencies that address health or healthcare,” including agencies responsible for food safety, to “focus on reversing chronic disease.”

The executive order establishes the President’s MAHA Commission, which will be chaired by RFK Jr. as the HHS Secretary, and will include the Secretary of Agriculture (responsible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]), confirmed to be Brooke Rollins, J.D. on February 13; the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (responsible for FDA); and the Director for CDC, among other officials. The MAHA Commission will be given several charges, including, but not limited to:

• Assessing the threat that the potential overuse of certain food ingredients, chemicals, and other exposures pose to children with respect to chronic inflammation or other established mechanisms of disease
• Within 180 days of the executive order, submitting a “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy," based on the aforementioned exposure assessment, which will “address appropriately restructuring the Federal Government’s response to the childhood chronic disease crisis.”

Workforce Reductions at FDA, CDC

Additionally, the Associated Press (AP) reported on February 16 that mass firings were coming to FDA and CDC. According to AP, probationary employees (who have yet to qualify for civil service protections) at FDA received notices that their positions were being eliminated, with a focus on those who staff the agency’s centers for food, medical devices, and tobacco products.

Moreover, insiders told AP that the number of probationary employees to be laid off at CDC would total nearly 1,300, but as of February 16, only 700 people had received notices. CBS News also reported that all of CDC's most recent class of Epidemic Intelligence Services officers, making up nearly half of the agency's "disease detectives," are among those being cut.

In total, approximately 5,200 positions across federal public health agencies are being eliminated, according to Stat.

Also related to jobs in federal agencies overseeing the U.S. food supply, in a February 14 statement from USDA, recently confirmed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins alluded to an “aggressive plan to optimize its workforce by eliminating positions that are no longer necessary” at the agency. As of February 17, probationary employees (who have yet to qualify for civil service protections) in USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Economic Research Service (ERS) have been dismissed.

Update, February 18, 2025: FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods James (Jim) Jones has submitted his resignation, citing 89 "indiscriminate" layoffs in the Human Foods Program that would hinder the effectiveness of the agency. 

Update, February 19, 2025: Major public health, food industry, and consumer protection groups have stated concerns about the mass firing of FDA Human Foods Program staff and the resignation of Deputy Commissioner Jones, expressing that layoffs could jeopardize food safety and RFK Jr.’s MAHA agenda.

Update, February 21, 2025: Attorney Kyle Diamantas, J.D. is expected to replace Mr. Jones as FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, according to Bloomberg.

Update, February 25, 2025: According to multiple sources, FDA and USDA are looking to re-hire some employees who were dismissed by the presidential administration, including staffers responsible for reviewing food ingredient safety and avian influenza response.

Update, February 28, 2025: Originally reported by Helena Bottmiller Evich of Food Fix, one of the FDA staffers whom the Trump Administration fired—and then scrambled to re-hire—was a top official in charge of infant formula safety; specifically, the Acting Director for the Office of Critical Foods, who was on the job for less than a year. This is notable because FDA's recent reorganization of its Human Foods Program was precipitated by the infant formula safety and supply crisis of 2022, and strengthened infant formula oversight is now a key priority of the Human Foods Program. 

Additionally, USDA is apparently struggling to convince fired employees responsible for avian flu response to come back to the administration, reported Politico. "Roughly a quarter of employees in a critical office testing for the disease were cut, as well as scientists and inspectors. The dismissals have already helped trigger a partial shutdown at one of the department’s research facilities, according to two USDA employees, interrupting some workers’ efforts to fight bird flu and help livestock recover from illness. Now, agency officials are running into logistical challenges in reinstating its bird flu staff — and convincing them to return to jobs," stated Politico. Significantly, without addressing plans to re-staff the agency, USDA announced on February 26 that it intends to address the ongoing HPAI H5N1 outbreak with up to $1 billion in investments, including up to $500 million to support farm biosecurity and up to $100 million for the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and other protection strategies for layer chickens.

Update, March 5, 2025: Following mass layoffs that swept regulatory agencies, including those responsible for food safety and foodborne illness response, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has walked back its orders to fire probationary employees at federal agencies.