Ex-HHS Workers Accuse Trump Administration of Using Flawed Data to Justify Mass Firings

Former HHS employees allege that the Trump administration's dismissal of 10,000 health agency workers was not a true restructuring but rather a calculated mass firing using questionable justifications2.

Affected agencies include the Administration for Community Living (ACL), which lost about half its staff, jeopardizing critical grant disbursement for services to older adults and people with disabilities2.

The cuts also led to confusion and disruption in the delivery of federal funds to programs like Meals on Wheels, raising concerns about the impact on vulnerable groups2.

According to a March 2025 HHS document, CMS alone reduced its workforce by around 300 employees (about 4%), with severe impacts on offices aiding minority health, civil rights, and regional coordination1.

The firings are part of a broader push, rooted in the Project 2025 policy blueprint, to sharply reduce the federal workforce and eliminate entire agencies through rapid, often chaotic processes3.

Current and former workers argue these actions abandoned core agency missions and disproportionately harmed the sick, poor, and disabled2.

Sources:

1. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/which-federal-agencies-make-medicare-work-and-how-were-they-affected-by-recent-changes-made-by-the-trump-administration/

2. https://www.statnews.com/2025/04/01/hhs-firings-put-disabled-americans-at-risk/

3. https://www.govexec.com/transition/2025/04/project-2025-wanted-hobble-federal-workforce-doge-has-hastily-done-and-more/404390/