Six former FDA officials told STAT they left the agency after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired around 3,500 workers in 2025. As of late April 2026, the FDA has hired about 350 of the more than 3,200 workers targeted for rehiring. The departures come amid concerns about the agency's capacity to respond to public health threats like the ongoing hantavirus outbreak.
FDA workforce cuts
- ▪U.S. DOGE Service cuts affected the federal government in 2025
- ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired around 3,500 workers from the Food and Drug Administration in 2025
Rebuilding efforts underway
- ▪The FDA is actively investing in its workforce to ensure continuity of expertise and prevent the loss of critical institutional knowledge
- ▪Marty Makary has touted the FDA hiring plan in media appearances and town halls over the past few months
- ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is aiming to hire more than 3,200 FDA workers, including scientific reviewers and investigators
Hiring challenges persist
- ▪A demoralized, diminished FDA workforce will not help the health department's leaders achieve their goals
- ▪As of late April 2026, the FDA has hired about 350 workers out of the more than 3,200 targeted
- ▪HHS leaders have acknowledged that earning the trust of and retaining staff is a priority
Former officials' testimonies
- ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the Health and Human Services Secretary
- ▪Julie Tierney worked on Operation Warp Speed
- ▪Andrew Nixon is a spokesperson for HHS
- ▪Richard Pazdur is the former director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
- ▪Marty Makary is the FDA commissioner
- ▪STAT interviewed six former FDA officials about what drew them to the agency, the important work they did during their career there, and why they decided to leave during the second Trump administration
- ▪Sheryl Lard-Whiteford was a leader in the FDA's biologics center
Perspective of Former FDA officials who departed
- ▪Former FDA officials left the agency following significant staffing cuts and policy changes under the Trump administration amid concerns about capacity to respond to public health threats like the ongoing hantavirus outbreak
Perspective of HHS leadership under Trump administration
- ▪HHS leaders have acknowledged that earning the trust of and retaining staff is a priority
- ▪The FDA is actively investing in its workforce to ensure continuity of expertise and prevent the loss of critical institutional knowledge
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