This agency that's supposed to protect America just lost a quarter of its people

"The Trump administration escalated its campaign to fire federal workers during the government shutdown, seizing the opportunity to further slash the already diminished CDC. On Tuesday, the union that represents workers at the CDC said that the agency's workforce has already been reduced by a quarter since the beginning of the year. During the shutdown, the public health agency, which steered U.S. health policy through the pandemic, has found itself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration once again."

"Over the weekend, around 1,300 CDC employees received layoff notices. By Saturday, the agency rescinded roughly 700 of the planned terminations, saying that the additional unintended layoffs were due to a "coding error." The CDC layoffs are part of a new round of mass layoffs that have reduced core parts of the federal government, including the Treasury Department, the Education Department, and Health and Human Services (HHS), which houses the CDC."

"In August, CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired after refusing to "rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives" or fire health experts on her team, according to her legal team. Many of the CDC's top leaders followed her departure, resigning in protest and deepening the chaos roiling the nation's public health agency. Dismantling the CDC is clearly a top priority during Trump's second term, but the risks are huge."

The Trump administration accelerated removal of federal workers during the government shutdown, targeting the CDC and reducing its workforce by roughly 25 percent since the start of the year. Approximately 1,300 CDC employees received layoff notices over a weekend, and roughly 700 notices were later rescinded after the agency attributed the extra terminations to a "coding error." The layoffs form part of wider cuts affecting Treasury, Education, and HHS. In August, CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired after refusing to "rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives," prompting senior resignations and further destabilizing the agency. Frontline staff responding to measles and an Ebola outbreak were among those affected.

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