Vast Layoffs Begin at HHS

Robert Kennedy Jr.'s promised blood-letting at the Department of Health and Human Services began Monday night as the first of thousands of emails began hitting inboxes to let workers know they were either out of a job or were a candidate for reassignment. As the Washington Post reports, the purge looks to cut HHS' ranks by 20,000 (half of which were achieved through buyouts and early retirements) to 62,000. Critics of the move abounded: "They may as well be renaming it the Department of Disease because their plan is putting lives in serious jeopardy," said Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat. A look around:

• Lines: A line of people stretched around the Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, DC, Tuesday morning as hundreds waited to learn their fate. At the FDA campus in White Oak, Maryland, employees found they were out of a job when their badges wouldn't let them into the building. Positions in human resources, procurement, finance, and information technology were targeted.

• Reassignments: Positions in "high cost regions" were in the crosshairs, and many reassignments were offered in places like Alaska, Oklahoma, the Navajo Nation, and Billings, Montana. Among those offered reassignment was Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, who replaced Dr. Anthony Fauci as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, per Bloomberg. Employees were given until 5pm Wednesday to decide.
• In the dark: Managers had little idea what would be hit. "What is really galling and hard is that supervisors and leaders aren't being told anything, they just have to wait and see which of their staff get notices," a senior official at the CDC told CNN.
• The NIH: At least four directors of its 27 institutes and centers were put on administrative leave, and nearly whole communications staffs were laid off, reports the AP. New director Jay Bhattacharya started his first day of work as 1,200 people were let go.
• The FDA: The agency in charge of inspections and safety standards for medications, medical devices, and food lost 3,500 jobs. "It's a bloodbath," one employee told CNN.
• The CDC: The agency in charge of monitoring infectious disease outbreaks lost 2,400.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: The agency in charge of the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare, and Medicaid lost 300 jobs.

(More Health and Human Services stories.)