Health
C.D.C. Cuts Threaten to Set Back the Nation’s Health, Critics Say
The extensive layoffs of federal health workers that began on Tuesday will greatly curtail the scope and influence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world’s premier public health agency, an outcome long sought by conservatives critical of its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services shrinks the C.D.C. by 2,400 employees, or roughly 18 percent of its work force, and strips away some of its core functions.
Some Democrats in Congress described the reorganization throughout H.H.S. as flatly illegal.
“You cannot decimate and restructure H.H.S. without Congress,” said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and a member of the Senate health committee.
“This is not only unlawful but seriously harmful — they are putting Americans’ health and well-being on the line,” she added.
Ms. Murray noted that the Trump administration had not detailed which units are being cut at the C.D.C. and other health agencies. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, said last week the layoffs would affect primarily administrative functions.
But according to information gathered by The New York Times from dozens of workers, the reductions were more broadly targeted. Scientists focused on environmental health and asthma, injuries, lead poisoning, smoking and climate change were dismissed.
Researchers studying blood disorders, violence prevention and access to vaccines were let go. The agency’s center on H.I.V. and sexually transmitted diseases was among the hardest hit, losing about 27 percent of its staff.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which makes recommendations on how to keep workers safe, was all but dissolved.
What remains is a hobbled C.D.C., with a smaller global footprint, devoting fewer resources to environmental health, occupational health and disease prevention, public health experts said.
Instead, the agency will be trained more narrowly on domestic disease outbreaks. Communications will be centralized at H.H.S. in Washington.
The department intends “to ensure a more coordinated and effective response to public health challenges, ultimately benefiting the American taxpayer,” said Emily Hilliard, deputy press secretary at the department.
“C.D.C. scientists have conducted numerous interviews on a variety of topics and will continue to do so,” she added.
Critics predicted the move would prevent scientists from speaking frankly about public health.
“American taxpayers provide the resources for C.D.C.’s specialists and have the right to hear directly from them without interference by politicians,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, who led the agency from 2009 to 2017.
The sweeping reductions arrive as the nation confronts an outbreak of measles in Texas and elsewhere, a spreading bird flu epidemic on poultry and dairy farms, and a raft of new questions about public health measures like water fluoridation and school vaccine requirements.
“What we seem to be seeing is a dismantling rather than a restructuring” of the public health system, said Dr. Richard Besser, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the C.D.C.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate health committee, which recommended confirmation of Mr. Kennedy as secretary, scheduled a hearing on the reorganization of H.H.S., citing the possible impacts on public health.
Mr. Kennedy has described the reorganization as an effort to clean up waste and bureaucracy while promising that federal health agencies would do more to improve the health of Americans.
“We’re going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agencies while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for a Healthy America,” the secretary said in a videotaped message announcing the layoffs.
The department did not respond to requests for more detailed information.
Society’s most vulnerable — the poor, Black, Latino and Native American people, rural Americans with less access to health care, the disabled and those at highest risk for illness — are likely to be hit hardest, experts said.
“These communities rely on public health to a larger extent than wealthy communities do,” Dr. Besser said.
For decades, public health and medical research drew support across the political spectrum.
But the C.D.C. has been in the political cross hairs since the first Trump administration, when the White House muzzled the agency’s communications, meddled with its publications and blamed its scientists for bungling the pandemic response.
In recent years, lawmakers have harshly criticized the agency’s advice on masks, lockdowns, social distancing, school closures and various other attempts to contain the pandemic, calling them economically and socially disastrous.
Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for reshaping the federal government, described the C.D.C. as “perhaps the most incompetent and arrogant” federal agency, and called on Congress to curb its powers.
Through staffing cuts, the administration reduced critical divisions of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and employees studying how to prevent gun violence, child abuse and elder abuse were fired.
Injuries are the leading cause of death among Americans under 45. About 47,000 Americans are killed by firearms each year, more than half of them suicides.
But gun violence is a politically fraught topic. Pressure from the National Rifle Association and conservative politicians led to a ban on using federal funds to study gun violence for almost 25 years. Funding was restored in 2019.
The injury center studied ways to improve gun safety and promoted the use of gun locks, particularly in homes where children live.
“People think of gun violence as a question for law enforcement, but the public health approach has made a big difference,” said Dr. Mark Rosenberg, a former center director.
Most of the C.D.C.’s Division of Reproductive Health, which studies maternal health, was also shuttered. Whether some or all of its portfolio will be assumed by the new organization created by Mr. Kennedy was not clear.
Pregnant women and newborns die in the United States at a far higher rate than in other industrialized nations.
In recent years, the C.D.C. focused on stark racial health disparities that put Black American women at nearly three times the risk of dying of pregnancy complications than white women.
But the Trump administration has been defunding studies of health disparities in racial, ethnic and gender minorities, saying they do not align with the president’s executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Mr. Kennedy said last week that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses, would be absorbed into the health department.
But on Tuesday, most of its divisions were eliminated, among them offices dedicated to protecting workers in various industries, including mine inspectors.
Even one of the agency’s most essential functions, infectious disease research, was affected.
The Trump administration had been weighing moving the H.I.V. prevention division to a different agency within the health department.
But on Tuesday, teams leading H.I.V. surveillance and research within that division were laid off. It was unclear whether some of those functions would be recreated elsewhere. (A team in the global health center working on preventing mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. was also cut.)
Until now, the C.D.C. provided funds to states and territories for responding to and preventing H.I.V. outbreaks. Roughly one in four new diagnoses of H.I.V. is made with agency funds.
Some H.I.V. experts warned that the move could lead to a rise in H.I.V. infections among Americans.
“H.I.V. prevention is a lot more than just giving out condoms,” said Dr. John Brooks, who served as chief medical officer for the division of H.I.V. prevention until last year. “It saves lives, averts illness and produces enormous cost savings.”
Broadly, the reorganization aligns with Mr. Kennedy’s preferred emphasis on research into chronic diseases; federal research has been far too focused on infectious diseases, he has said.
But the line between them is not always clear, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, former principal deputy director of the C.D.C. Research that seems disconnected from outbreak response may also be a key for fighting pathogens.
“For Zika, we needed experts in birth defects, entomology and vector control, virologists and environmental health experts,” she said. “Emerging threats don’t respect borders of C.D.C. organizational units.”
The reorganization risks choking the talent pipeline for public health, said Ursula Bauer, former director of the agency’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
“Once you decimate an agency like C.D.C., which is full of high-caliber highly trained individuals, building back is going to be incredibly difficult,” she said.
“It will take two to three times as long to undo the damage as it took to inflict it.”
The cuts also will take a toll on the agency’s ability to gather and analyze data, which are keys to identifying trends and developing interventions, Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said at a news briefing.
“You take away those systems, and it takes away the ability to see the impact of all these cuts,” he added.
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The Great American State Fair was postponed Saturday after multiple people reportedly fainted the day before, forcing thousands of visitors to pivot during celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary.
Friday’s medical emergencies required onsite attention as crowds flocked to the nation’s capital for Independence Day.
The fair reopened later Friday evening but was postponed again Saturday.
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Fox News Digital asked attendees what it took to get to the capital and what they made of the closure.
“We are so blessed to live in the best country in the world,” Whitney Thomas, a mother from North Carolina who traveled with her family for the Great American State Fair, told Fox News Digital Friday.
An arch across the street from a 110-foot “Freedom 250” Ferris wheel during final preparations for the Great American State Fair on the National Mall June 22, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Despite the weather closure, she said her family was able to enjoy the State Fair Thursday evening and planned to wait out the heat in nearby museums until the fair reopened.
“I wanted my kids, who are 9 and 10, to be able to experience this with us,” she said.
“You cannot tell me that America was won by shutting things down when it gets hot.”
Brad Shultis, a retired Marine who traveled from Stafford, Virginia, expressed frustration over the decision to halt festivities.
“You cannot tell me that America was won by shutting things down when it gets hot,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“It gets hot, and we shut it down because it’s hot? Who cares? If it’s too hot, stay home.”
Shultis noted that he drove to Springfield and took the Metro just to be turned away right after buying lunch. He questioned the decision to shut down the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, arguing that if people find the weather too hot, they should simply stay home or seek medical help rather than forcing a mass evacuation for those who spent time and money to get there.
Whitney Thomas brought her children with her from North Carolina to Washington to experience the historic event as a family. (Fox News Digital)
Wendy Lamb, who traveled eight hours from Connecticut with her family to support the state’s booth, noted that organizers were likely worried about the intense conditions and simply did not want visitors to suffer.
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While disappointed that her home state did not send official representation due to budget issues, Lamb and her fellow travelers refused to let the heat ruin their first trip to Washington, D.C.
“We’ve had a really, really fun time so far,” added John, another member of the group.
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He said they plan to navigate the heat by moving from museum to museum and using the Metro system to stay cool until the gates reopen.
For these visitors, the setback was minor compared to the emotional weight of seeing the U.S. Capitol and the Rotunda.
Judy drove with her family from Connecticut to support the state after officials withdrew support prior to the fair opening. (Fox News Digital)
“I mean, we are so fortunate we are free, and yet we have people out there that hate our country. … it’s very emotional,” said Pat Lamb, who fanned her face to stop tears welling in her eyes as she described the pride she felt for the nation.
The decision to close the fairgrounds aligns with severe weather protocols designed to prevent mass casualty medical events.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, extreme heat can quickly impair the body’s ability to cool itself, causing internal temperatures to rise faster than they can dissipate.
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When exposure to extreme conditions triggers a heat-related illness, symptoms can escalate rapidly from heat exhaustion — marked by heavy sweating, dizziness, nausea and fainting — to a life-threatening medical emergency, according to the CDC.
Brad Shultis, a veteran, was turned away just after lunch due to extreme heat at The Great American State Fair. (Fox News Digital)
The most severe risk is heat stroke, which occurs when the body’s cooling mechanism fails entirely, potentially driving core body temperatures to 103 degrees Fahrenheit or higher within minutes.
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To prevent severe complications like permanent organ damage or death, the CDC advises that anyone exhibiting warning signs such as confusion, slurred speech or a loss of consciousness should receive immediate medical treatment.
Public health officials urge individuals in high-heat environments to seek shade, stay heavily hydrated and identify air-conditioned cooling centers.
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Many of the American colonists’ eating habits have made a comeback in recent years. They ate minimally processed, locally sourced whole foods and regularly incorporated organ meats into their meals.
Livestock and many Old World crops had already been introduced to North America by European explorers and settlers during the centuries before the nation’s founding.
Early settlers adapted European cooking traditions using ingredients available in North America, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) reported.
Indigenous peoples introduced corn to the colonists, and it became a core ingredient in many of their recipes. Beans, squash, and potatoes were among the other crops that became incorporated into colonial cooking, according to the CSPC.
“Cornmeal appeared in dishes such as hasty pudding — a thick porridge similar to polenta — and johnnycakes, simple griddle cakes that were popular from New England to the South,” History Facts reported.
Cornmeal Johnnycakes, roast pork and cream cheese are distinctly early-American foods the CSPC has recipes for on its website.
Corn became a staple of early colonists’ diets after Indigenous peoples introduced the crop to the settlers and taught them how to cultivate it. (iStock)
Regional customs and crops greatly influenced what the colonists ate. Rice and okra grew well and were plentiful in the South, where French and African influences also shaped eating habits.
Dutch, English and German immigrants largely settled in the north and established the region’s culinary traditions.
Seafood such as rockfish and crab dominated the diets of early Maryland settlers, NPR reported.
Meat was a status symbol, local food historian Joyce White told the publication. Beef was prized, and chicken was often saved for egg production.
“If it’s your pig or cow coming from your plantation, you don’t want to waste it,” White said.
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Thomas Jefferson was known for his decadent tastes and a fondness for French wine and macaroni and cheese. Records show that black-eyed peas, turnip greens and ham were also part of the Founding Father’s diet.
Salted and preserved fish and meats, including bacon, sausage, liver pudding and offal, were staples of working-class people’s diets, while the upper classes indulged in such luxuries as white flour and sugar.
Interest in these traditional foods has resurfaced in recent years as some Americans seek diets centered on whole, minimally processed ingredients.
Founding Father Thomas Jefferson was known for his continental tastes and enjoyed French wine and macaroni and cheese. (iStock)
Advocates of the Make America Healthy Again movement, for instance, have promoted organ meats, or offal, as some of the cheapest and most nutrient-dense foods people can eat.
Stews that evolved as ingredients became available were also common an America’s early days.
The amount of alcohol the colonists consumed was “staggering,” Adrian Miller, author of “The President’s Kitchen Cabinet,” told NPR.
“They were very open about how much they were drinking,” he said.
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George Washington wrote a recipe for “small beer” in a journal he kept as a young colonel in charge of the Virginia militia during the Seven Years’ War, Fox News Digital previously reported. The New York Public Library houses the journal.
“Small beer,” according to the library, derives its name from the small amount of alcohol it contains. It was quick to make, safer to drink because the brewing process helped eliminate bacteria in the water — and it was an “everyday, mainstay beverage,” the library reported.
“While the 1776 Diet has some positives — such as emphasizing whole foods, home cooking and fewer ultra-processed foods — it’s not one I’d recommend following too literally,” registered dietician Lisa R. Young, adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University, told Fox News Digital.
Working-class colonists would often save chickens for their eggs, rather than consuming their meat. (iStock)
“Colonial Americans often ate foods like salted ham, organ meats and other preserved meats out of necessity,” she said. “Today, we know it’s best to limit processed and cured meats because they’re high in sodium and saturated fat, and organ meats, while nutrient-dense, are best eaten in moderation due to their high cholesterol content.”
Focus on the healthiest aspects of the 1776 diet, Young recommended. That includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, fish and lean proteins.
“Of course, you can emulate the Founding Fathers’ diet for the week of the 250th anniversary,” she said. “What you eat for a day or a week won’t matter much in the scheme of things.”
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Some of the Founding Fathers drank a lot of ale, often in the morning, Young noted.
“We shouldn’t emulate that,” she said.
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Fireworks have been a quintessential part of Fourth of July celebrations across the nation for generations.
But as Independence Day festivities light up the night sky, the colorful displays can also pose serious health risks — especially to the lungs.
Nearly 300 million pounds of fireworks are released into the atmosphere each year in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association. This creates smoke filled with tiny particles, as well as gases like sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which are “very harmful to our lungs.”
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The smoke from fireworks can also release harmful metals, like aluminum, manganese and cadmium, into the air.
Some illegal fireworks may contain lead, which the association describes as “extremely dangerous” due to its potential to cause lasting health damage.
Attendees watch the Independence Day fireworks display along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Inhaling any of these chemicals can irritate the lungs, making it hard to breathe and causing serious health problems, which is why it is important to avoid firework smoke whenever possible,” the group said in a public advisory.
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Air pollution levels increase by an average of 42% on the Fourth of July, according to a 2015 study.
Smoke from fireworks can worsen symptoms and cause flare-ups in those who have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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Fine particle pollution has also been linked to more serious health consequences, including heart attacks, stroke, lung cancer and premature death, according to the American Lung Association.
The organization warned that children, older adults and pregnant women, as well as people with lung and heart disease, are especially vulnerable.
Smoke from fireworks can worsen symptoms and cause flare-ups in those who have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (iStock)
Dr. Afif El-Hasan, member of the Lung Association’s board of directors, shared some advice for high-risk fireworks spectators in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Instead of using fireworks at home, El-Hasan recommends watching them from a distance.
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People with asthma who use a rescue inhaler should keep it close at hand in case fireworks trigger wheezing or other symptoms, the expert advised. Wearing a well-fitting N95 mask can also help reduce exposure to fine particles from fireworks smoke and debris.
“If you are familiar with the area and the wind patterns, try to be upwind from the fireworks display and avoid areas where smoke may accumulate,” he said.
An expert recommends watching fireworks from a distance to avoid exposure to air pollution. (iStock)
The expert also recommends attending fireworks events with friends or family, so someone is available to help if a medical emergency arises.
“Make sure you have taken all of your preventative medication before a fireworks show,” El-Hasan advised. “If possible, take a car to the fireworks display. Try to park as close as possible to the event in case you have to get to the car quickly.”
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The expert also recommends drinking water immediately after the show to clear the upper airway. Changing and washing clothes upon returning home can also help to prevent smoke particles from accumulating in the home.
If case of shortness of breath or chest pain, it’s important to seek medical care immediately.
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