(A)Political - March 29th

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It’s been a full week of politics, and I’m here for it. Let’s get into it!

RFK is making good on his promise of reform, as the HHS in bound to take on cuts in order to be a more ‘lean’ administration. Trump is stating that it’s ‘Politics 101’ in withdrawing Stefanik from her UN Ambassador nomination. An appeals court has given Trump a significant victory over Federal Labor Boards.

• RFK Announces Steep Cuts to HHS

• Trump Pulls Stefanik Nomination Over House Majority Fears

• Appeals Court Gives Trump Victory Over Federal Labor Boards

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RFK Announces Steep Cuts To HHS

_{By: Atlas}

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a sweeping restructuring of the department on Thursday that will eliminate 10,000 jobs. The cuts, which align with President Donald Trump's broader effort to reduce the size of the federal government, will shrink HHS from 82,000 to 62,000 employees when factoring in those who took the severance package and those who are now being cut.

"We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic," Kennedy said in a news release. "This Department will do more — a lot more — at a lower cost to the taxpayer."

The major overhaul includes consolidating the department's 28 divisions down to 15, creating a new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), and reducing the number of regional offices from 10 to five. According to HHS, the restructuring is expected to save $1.8 billion annually.

Impact on Key Health Agencies

The cuts will affect several critical health agencies that operate under the HHS umbrella, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the department, the reductions include 3,500 full-time employees at the FDA, 2,400 at the CDC, 1,200 at NIH, and 300 at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Kennedy has insisted that the cuts will not affect key services, with HHS stating that Medicare and Medicaid will not be impacted. The department also claims that drug, medical device, and food reviewers and inspectors at the FDA will be spared.

Defending the Cuts

Kennedy has characterized HHS as a dysfunctional agency operating in silos, with divisions sometimes working at cross-purposes. In a video posted to social media, Kennedy said, "HHS has more than 100 communications offices and more than 40 IT departments and dozens of procurement offices and nine HR departments. In many cases, they don't even talk to each other."

Appearing on NewsNation's "Cuomo" program Thursday, Kennedy defended the cuts by emphasizing that front-line workers would be preserved. "We're not cutting front-line workers, we're cutting administrators, and we're consolidating the agency to make it more efficient," he said.

Kennedy has also pointed to what he describes as a disconnect between increased funding and declining public health outcomes. "The HHS budget increased by about 38 percent from 2021 to 2025," he noted. "Staffing went up by 17 percent during that time. But all that money has failed to improve the health of Americans."

New Direction for Health Research

Beyond staff reductions, the restructuring signals a dramatic shift in research priorities at health agencies. Fox News Digital reported that HHS has terminated more than $330 million in National Institutes of Health grants related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and gender research in California alone.

"The terminated research grants are simply wasteful in studying things that do not pertain to American's health to any significant degree, including DEI and gender ideology," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. "As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it's important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans."

The new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) will consolidate several existing divisions, with a focus on primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, and HIV/AIDS, according to HHS. The restructuring also moves the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) — which handles medical responses to natural disasters and public health emergencies — from reporting directly to the health secretary to being housed under the CDC.

Mixed Reactions

The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from public health experts, federal employee unions, and Democratic lawmakers, while receiving measured support from several Republicans and Kennedy allies.

Inside the agencies, employees are reportedly bracing for the impact. One NIH employee told NPR that staff are "more than worried for their own livelihoods, people are scared for the future of the NIH [and] its science." According to another NIH employee, people will learn whether they are losing their jobs on Friday, with the reductions taking effect in May.

The restructuring comes as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to reduce the federal workforce, led in part by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). For Kennedy, who has positioned himself as the champion of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, the changes represent a dramatic reorientation of the nation's health priorities toward his focus on environmental toxins and chronic disease prevention.

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