Top American drug, tobacco regulators are cut as RFK jr. Repeat the Health Agency

The US Department of Health and Human Services began firing workers early Tuesday morning, including top regulators involved in drug and tobacco security, according to a memo considered by Bloomberg, as secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Put his stamp on the agency. Emails of Deputy Assistant -Secretary for Human Resources Tom Nagy informed people that they had ended, at about 5am in Washington, DC. Portions of or the entire offices are 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 notice of power were immediately excluded from the HHS computer systems, which means that the work on the programs they offered was effectively stopped and that they could not communicate with partners. The layoffs are in line with a plan that Kennedy announced on March 27 to eliminate 10,000 employees from the agency’s workforce. Combined with voluntary departure through buyout programs, the total initiative is expected to reduce the staff of the agency from 82,000 employees to 62,000 workers. Under the cutting, Peter Stein, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration who supervised judges who evaluated new medicine, according to ‘Ne post that Bloomberg saw. “I received ‘NE post indicating that I was removed from the Ond and offered a post in patient affairs – which I rejected,” Stein wrote. The Office of New Drugs assesses applications and makes approval decisions, and is responsible for deciding whether the benefits of drugs exceed the risks, the agency states. Stein’s departure is another major blow to the leadership of the agency after the departure of Peter Marks on March 28, which oversaw the FDA division that approves of vaccines, insulins and complicated medicines. In addition, the FDA’s main tobacco regulator was removed from its position. “It is with a fierce heart and deep disappointment that I share, I was placed on administrative leave,” said Brian King, who served as director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in ‘NE post to staff obtained by Bloomberg Law. According to people who are familiar with the cuts, most of the PDA’s press office was also influenced by the discharge. In addition to shrinking the agency’s workforce, Kennedy also works to reform its structure by cutting the number of sections almost in half. These movements include the combination of HHS units that focus on public health, drug abuse, mental health and career safety in 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. HHS said drug and medical equipment workers will be saved with food judges and inspectors of the cuts. Democrats blew Kennedy’s plans and said they would disrupt services and undermine medical research. “Their plan is to put lives in serious danger,” Washington Senator Patty Murray told reporters the day after the cuts were announced. With the help of Sophie Alexander, Ike Swetlitz and Nyah Phengsitthy. © 2025 Bloomberg MP This article was generated from an automatic news agency feed without edits to text. Catch all the business news, corporate news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. Business Newscompaniesnewstop US drug, tobacco regulators are cut as RFK jr. Repeat the Health Agency more less