Health departments in numerous states are laying off employees after the Trump administration abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in grant funding March 24.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services is laying off 37 employees whose positions were supported by grants that have been discontinued. In Arkansas, 15 health department positions were eliminated, according to NBC affiliate KARK-TV. In West Texas, public health officials working to combat a measles outbreak have received notices to stop certain response efforts supported by the affected funding.
The job cuts come after HHS ended $11.4 billion in grants from the CDC and roughly $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The funds had supported efforts to track infectious diseases, expand mental health services and modernize outdated systems, The New York Times reported March 26. Congress initially authorized the CDC grants to support COVID-19 response efforts, but in 2024, the government gave state health departments the flexibility to put the funds toward other public health concerns, including testing and surveillance for other respiratory viruses.
State officials anticipate thousands of health department workers nationwide will lose their jobs as a result of the terminated grants, according to the Times. Later the same week, on March 27, HHS announced plans to lay off 10,000 full-time employees in what it described as a “dramatic restructuring” expected to save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually.
Four more federal updates to know:
1. Top FDA vaccine regulator resigns. Peter Marks, MD, PhD, a top vaccine regulator at the Food and Drug Administration, resigned, NBC News reported March 28. A person close to the matter told the news outlet that Dr. Marks was “forced out.”
“If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of [HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.],” an HHS spokesperson told NBC News.
Dr. Marks wrote in a resignation letter to Sara Brenner, MD, the acting FDA commissioner, that undermining vaccine confidence is “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security,” NBC News reported. Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccinations have been questioned in the past and received significant pushback on the subject during his two HHS secretary confirmation hearings.
2. Elon Musk to exit DOGE. Elon Musk, head of Tesla and lead for the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, shared plans to step away from his DOGE role in May, he said during a March 28 interview with Fox News.
Mr. Musk is a special government employee, meaning his services can not exceed 130 days, according to the Interior Department’s website. President Donald Trump implemented DOGE on Jan. 20, meaning Mr. Musk’s last day as a special government employee would be in late May.
“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame,” Mr. Musk said during the interview alongside seven other DOGE members. “Our goal is to reduce the waste and fraud by $4 billion dollars a day, every day, seven days a week. So far we are succeeding.”
3. VUMC temporarily freezing hiring for research positions. Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., has temporarily frozen hiring for most research positions amid ongoing federal funding cuts, The Tennessean reported March 31.
While a VUMC spokesperson declined to share how much money the health system expects to lose, other cost-saving measures will also be implemented alongside the hiring pause for most research positions. VUMC will continue to hire front-line employees amid the pause.
“In response to recent administrative orders impacting financial resources for medical research, it is necessary for VUMC to strategically reduce research operating costs,” the VUMC spokesperson told The Tennessean.
The news comes after Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University laid off 247 U.S.-based employees due to the termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding, affecting programs including its medical school.
4. Federal quality, safety work faces uncertainty: Plans to downsize the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are raising questions about the future of federal efforts to improve quality and safety. As part of the broader HHS restructuring effort, the Trump administration will merge the AHRQ with the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and create the Office of Strategy. The office would focus on improving research that supports the priorities of Mr. Kennedy, according to MedPage Today. It is unclear what the merger will mean for the AHRQ workforce.
Established in 1999, the AHRQ is the lead federal agency on patient safety research. It also develops and shares evidence-based tools, data and resources to support healthcare providers in improving patient safety. The agency employs around 300 people.
