U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a bold and controversial plan to cut 25% of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) workforce. This move is part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, aimed at shifting focus from disease control to chronic illness prevention.
However, this decision comes during a serious measles outbreak and growing bird flu concerns, raising alarms among health experts and critics.
What’s in the Restructuring Plan?
According to Kennedy’s Thursday announcement, the department will reduce its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 employees — cutting 10,000 jobs through early retirements and buyouts promoted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Kennedy says the plan will help the department “realign with its core mission” by prioritizing clean food, clean water, and reduced toxins to tackle chronic diseases like diabetes and heart problems.
“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl,” Kennedy said. “We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities.”
The plan will also reduce the number of divisions within HHS from 28 to 15, including the creation of a new agency called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).
Agencies Hit Hardest by the Cuts
Three major U.S. health agencies will be heavily impacted:
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Food and Drug Administration (FDA): 3,500 job cuts
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): 2,400 job cuts
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National Institutes of Health (NIH): 1,200 job cuts
Kennedy claims the changes will save $1.8 billion annually, but that amount is only 0.1% of HHS’s $1.8 trillion annual budget.
Health Experts Are Worried
Many health professionals have expressed concern about Kennedy’s approach — especially during a time when infectious diseases are spreading. The current measles outbreak has affected 378 people, mostly unvaccinated, and has resulted in two deaths.
Kennedy’s past statements have downplayed the importance of vaccines, including the measles vaccine, and raised doubts about basic medical science. He once suggested infectious disease research be paused for 8 years, and has questioned whether germs cause illness at all.
Dr. Paul Offit, a well-known vaccine expert, said:
“He couldn’t do a worse job than he’s doing.”
Bird Flu Comments Draw Criticism
Kennedy also made headlines recently by suggesting that the avian flu should be allowed to spread among birds so that only the immune ones survive. He proposed breeding those birds for future generations.
Experts quickly condemned the idea, warning that allowing a virus to spread freely could lead to dangerous mutations and possibly spark a new human pandemic.