Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is working quickly to reverse a significant portion of the recent job cuts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), admitting that many of the layoffs were mistakes. The cuts, which began this week, were part of a broader push by the Trump administration to reduce the size of the federal workforce, but Kennedy now says that a major error was made in the process.
Around 10,000 workers were cut from HHS as part of the effort, with the overall goal being to reduce the department’s 82,000-person staff by nearly a quarter. However, Kennedy, who is now serving as health secretary, has acknowledged that roughly 20% of those layoffs should not have happened and will need to be corrected.
“Personnel that should not have been cut, were cut,” Kennedy told reporters on Thursday. “We’re reinstating them. And that was always the plan. Part of the DOGE plan was to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those were going to have to be reinstated because we’ll make mistakes.”
The “DOGE” initiative, which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency, was driven by the belief that large-scale cuts to federal agencies would lead to a leaner, more efficient government. But Kennedy’s admission highlights the unintended consequences of those cuts. Many of the people who lost their jobs were not in the administrative roles that were meant to be targeted, with some crucial research and public health work affected.
Among the key programs wrongly eliminated was a CDC initiative focused on monitoring lead exposure in children, which Kennedy said is being brought back. “There were some programs that were cut that are being reinstated, and I believe that that’s one,” he explained.
It remains unclear which specific workers will be reinstated, or how the health department will move forward with its staffing plans. The cuts have impacted many areas of the department’s work, including public health issues related to smoking, infertility, and mine safety.
In addition to the HHS cuts, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also faced layoffs, including the division responsible for tobacco policy—an area funded by the tobacco industry. Former FDA commissioner Robert Califf called the layoffs “a dark day for public health,” highlighting the broader consequences of these workforce reductions.
Kennedy’s acknowledgment of mistakes and his commitment to reversing some of the job cuts show the ongoing struggle within the Trump administration’s push to shrink the federal workforce. As Kennedy works to undo some of the damage, the future of many programs and staff members remains uncertain.
