The Trump administration is reportedly working on an executive order to fire thousands of federal workers in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“White House on Thursday denied it is drafting an executive order to cut workers across federal health agencies,” Reuters stated.

Multiple outlets reported the rumored executive order would likely target probationary workers.

Per Reuters:

According to the Wall Street Journal, under the order, which could come as soon as next week, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies would have to cut a certain percentage of employees.

Officials have been told to prepare lists of probationary workers who have essential roles and must be retained and those who don’t, the newspaper reported.

ADVERTISEMENT

The report comes after the Trump administration last week offered 2 million civilian full-time federal workers an opportunity to stop working this week and receive pay and benefits through Sept. 30 as President Donald Trump seeks to slash the size of the government.

The Department of Health and Human Services employs over 83,000 people, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

According to reports, around 40,000 federal workers had accepted the Trump administration’s buyout offer.

UPDATE: 40,000 Federal Employees Accept Buyout Offer As Deadline Approaches

Fierce Healthcare reports:

During the earliest days of the term, White House officials had told federal agencies to compile lists of federal employees on probationary status and make recommendations on whether they should stay in their roles.

On Wednesday and Thursday, officials in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health agencies asking managers to categorize these employees as mission-critical, important and not mission-critical, according to the Post. Those within the CDC appeared to be under more intense scrutiny, with at least one deadline for such rankings set for 11:00 a.m. Thursday.

The WSJ’s report corroborated the probationary employee categorization but added that the White House is “working on an executive order” that would give thousands of HHS workers the ax. Coming as soon as next week, but not yet finalized or guaranteed, it would set a percentage of employees that HHS agencies such as the CDC and the FDA would need to cut.

The HHS employs more than 80,000 people across its sub-agencies.

The reports landed as workers across the government faced down the deadline of a voluntary resignation offer. The buyout was communicated to the employees through an email titled “Fork in the Road”—reminiscent of a similar tactic employed by Elon Musk after purchasing Twitter—and floated pay through the end of September if they agreed to resign by midnight Thursday.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.