By Molly Goddard
10:53am PDT, Apr 4, 2025
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems to have put the cart before the horse with his mass government layoffs.
On Thursday, April 3, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary admitted during an interview with ABC News that he would be giving some people their jobs back after firing 10,000 federal workers to restructure the department.
Keep reading to find out why Kennedy is backtracking on his bold move…
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According to USA Today, in the past week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agency went from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees.
The Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health will also reportedly be cutting “3,500, 2,400 and 1,200” more people.
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Now, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is claiming they may have gone a bit too far.
“We’re streamlining the agencies. We’re going to make it work for public health, make it work for the American people,” he said.
“In the course of that, there were a number of instances where studies that should have not have been cut were cut, and we’ve reinstated them,” the member of Donald Trump‘s administration continued. “Personnel that should not have been cut were cut. We’re reinstating them, and that was always the plan.”
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. put the blame on Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) specialist Elon Musk: “Part of the DOGE — we talked about this from the beginning — is we’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstalled, because we’ll make mistakes,” he said.
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On Tuesday, April 1, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took to X to address the mass layoffs: “This is a difficult moment for all of us at HHS. Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs. But the reality is clear: what we’ve been doing isn’t working,” he wrote on social media.
“Despite spending $1.9 trillion in annual costs, Americans are getting sicker every year. In the past four years alone, the agency’s budget has grown by 38% — yet outcomes continue to decline,” he continued. “We must shift course. HHS needs to be recalibrated to emphasize prevention, not just sick care. These changes will not affect Medicare, Medicaid, or other essential health services.”
“This overhaul is about realigning HHS with its core mission: to stop the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. It’s a win-win for taxpayers and for every American we serve,” he concluded.
