Top US Drug, Tobacco Regulators Cut as RFK Jr. Reshapes Health Agency

The US Department of Health and Human Services started dismissing workers early Tuesday morning, including top regulators involved in drug and tobacco safety, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg, as Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. puts his stamp on the agency.

Emails coming from deputy assistant secretary for human resources Tom Nagy notifying people that they were terminated came around 5 a.m. in Washington, DC. Portions of, or whole offices were cut, according to two people familiar with the matter, including offices working on sexually transmitted diseases, global health and birth defects.

Employees affected by the reduction-in-force notice were locked out of HHS computer systems immediately, meaning the work on the programs they ran was effectively halted and they were unable to communicate with partners. 

The layoffs align with a plan Kennedy announced March 27 to eliminate 10,000 employees from the agency’s workforce. Combined with voluntary departures through buyout programs, the total initiative is expected to reduce the agency’s staff from 82,000 employees to 62,000 workers.

Among those cut were Peter Stein, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration who oversaw reviewers that evaluate new drugs, according to an email viewed by Bloomberg.

“I received an email indicating that I’ve been removed as OND Director and offered a position in patient affairs — which I have declined,” Stein wrote. The Office of New Drugs reviews applications and makes approval decisions, and is responsible for deciding whether the benefits of drugs outweigh the risks, the agency’s website says.

Stein’s departure is another major blow to the agency’s leadership following the March 28 departure of Peter Marks, who oversaw the division of FDA that approves vaccines, insulins and complex injectable medicines.

Additionally, the FDA’s chief tobacco regulator was removed from his position. “It is with a heavy heart and profound disappointment that I share I have been placed on administrative leave,” wrote Brian King, who served as director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in an email to staff obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Also affected by dismissals were most of the FDA’s press office, according to people familiar with the cuts.

Besides shrinking the agency’s workforce, Kennedy is also working to reshape its structure by cutting the number of divisions almost in half. Those moves include combining units of HHS focused on public health, substance abuse, mental health and occupational safety into a new entity called the Administration for a Healthy America. The division of HHS responsible for preparing for pandemics will be relocated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 1,000 employees will be transferred there as a result. 

HHS has said drug and medical device workers, along with food reviewers and inspectors will be spared from the cuts. 

Democrats have blasted Kennedy’s plans, saying they will disrupt services and undermine medical research. 

“Their plan is putting lives in serious jeopardy,” Washington Senator Patty Murray told reporters the day after the cuts were announced. 

With assistance from Sophie Alexander, Ike Swetlitz and Nyah Phengsitthy.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.