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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.