Foreign food safety inspections conducted by FDA have hit a historic low due to Trump Administration budget and staff cuts, according to an investigative report by ProPublica.
Among the approximately 1,300 CDC staffers that were laid off by President Trump amid the government shutdown reductions in force (RIFs), 700 were quickly rehired, including the entire staff and editors of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and 70 Epidemic Intelligence Service officers.
The Trump Administration revealed that it will begin mass layoffs of furloughed federal employees as the government shutdown continues, with HHS, which includes CDC and FDA, reported to be among the hardest hit agencies.
FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Investigation Table, which summarizes ongoing and closed foodborne illness outbreak investigations, has been put on pause. Additionally, HHS is set to furlough 41 percent of its employees.
In a September 17 hearing before the Senate HELP Committee, former CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, alongside now-resigned top CDC scientific expert Dr. Debra Houry, described the current climate at the agency and the circumstances surrounding Dr. Monarez’s termination.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses recent events at CDC, from the loss of officials to program cuts, and how these changes are impacting food safety work.
In two letters, thousands of public health professionals from dozens of stakeholder groups and federal agencies have called for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), saying he is making Americans “less safe in a multitude of ways,” including food safety.
Following the firing of former CDC Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D. on August 27, HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, who has no medical or infectious disease training, has been named CDC Acting Director.
Nominated by President Trump and confirmed in July, CDC Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D., was fired after scientific clashes with HHS Secretary Kennedy (RFK Jr.) and refusing to dismiss three veteran officials, who also departed CDC shortly after her termination was finalized.
Citing insufficient funding, CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) program has reduced surveillance from eight important foodborne pathogens to just two—Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC).
