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3mo ago

Trump Administration Fires Thousands of Federal Health and Aviation Workers

Mass layoffs at health agencies and the FAA raise safety concerns following deadly aviation incidents and public health challenges.

FILE - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration campus in Silver Spring, Md., is photographed on Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
Exterior view of the headquarters of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Salvage crews work on recovering wreckage near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Overview

  • Approximately 3,600 employees from the CDC, NIH, FDA, and other health agencies were terminated, including staff working on maternal health, infant nutrition, and disease detection programs.
  • Hundreds of FAA employees, including radar and navigational aid maintenance staff, were fired just weeks after a fatal midair collision near Washington, D.C., raising questions about aviation safety.
  • The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, oversaw the firings, which targeted probationary employees hired or promoted within the past year.
  • Critics warn that the layoffs exacerbate existing staffing shortages in public health and aviation, potentially undermining safety and emergency preparedness.
  • Amid these cuts, SpaceX engineers visited the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center to discuss potential modernization efforts, sparking concerns about conflicts of interest given Musk’s leadership role.