Trump Administration Fires Dozens of CDC Officials, Says NYT Report

The Trump administration has dismissed dozens of employees at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including “disease detectives,” senior scientists, and the agency’s entire Washington office, according to a report by The New York Times on Saturday.

Neither the White House nor the CDC immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The report said affected employees received layoff notices via email shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern Time (0100 GMT) on Friday, informing them that their positions were now considered either redundant or “substantially similar” to roles being carried out elsewhere in the agency.

The exact number of CDC staff impacted has not yet been confirmed.

The layoffs come amid a continuing U.S. government shutdown that has forced hundreds of thousands of federal employees to stay home, including many working at the Department of Health and Human Services, under which the CDC operates.