Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is aiming to cut 20,000 jobs at agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Scientists overseeing cancer research, vaccine and drug approvals, public health and tobacco regulations are also among 10,000 already laid off. Public health experts say the mass firings could have catastrophic impacts for the U.S. and the world.
“Some of the top public health experts in the world just lost their jobs,” said former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden.
If this was 30 years ago, sure. However, just because Trump is now running the playbook full tilt doesn’t mean our issues from three months ago have disappeared. We don’t have the housing, infrastructure, and jobs for the people who are already here. If the country had not been irresponsible and careless with immigration and housing the last 20 years, we could do that now, but since we are where we are, we can only be selective now.