April 2, 2025

RFK Jr.'s layoffs have arrived, hitting all corners of HHS

Yesterday, HHS began massive layoffs that health secretary RFK Jr. had planned across the department and its subsidiary agencies. They're expected to affect as many as 10,000 workers, or one-fourth of the department.

The cuts and reorganizations were broad: They affected people who help approve new medicines, track emerging pathogens, and uncover the secrets held in our DNA. Read an overview of what happened here.

My colleagues also dug into what happened within specific agencies.

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At the FDA, where it was Marty Makary's first day as commissioner, regulatory leaders were fired at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Tobacco Products, and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. FDA center leadership had no input on the firing decisions, according to sources. And several positions eliminated were almost entirely funded by user fees, therefore not contributing to any efforts to save taxpayer money. Read more.

At the NIH, directors of five institutes and at least two other members of senior leadership have been placed on administrative leave or offered new assignments since Monday. Beyond administrative personnel, the cuts also affected key scientists who were overseeing projects on sickle cell disease, neurodevelopmental disorders, and pandemic preparedness, among other areas of research. Read more.

At the CDC, scientists in divisions dedicated to tobacco control, injury prevention, workplace safety, birth defects, reproductive health, and substance abuse woke to news were affected. The Trump administration has argued the CDC should narrows its focus back to infectious disease concerns, but there were reports that some infectious disease divisions were also impacted, including those working on HIV prevention and tuberculosis containment. Read more.

In an odd twist, some top officials were offered the chance to transfer to the Indian Health Service, even though their experience is seemingly unrelated to that agency's focus. They included Brian King, the FDA's top tobacco regulator, and Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It's not clear why they were given this offer, but one observer speculated that it's way to get them to quit. Read more.

Another pattern that emerged across agencies was that teams working on media, communications, and Freedom of Information Act requests underwent major cuts. Workers said those reductions will impair HHS agencies' ability to relay critical health information to the public and run counter to Kennedy's vow to promote "radical transparency." Read more.

politics

Get ready for 'Liberation Day'

President Trump is expected to unveil his massive tariff plan today, what he has called "Liberation Day." He recently said this plan for reciprocal tariffs will "start with all countries," not just the top 10 or 15 trading partners that have import duties on U.S. products.

Trump has also said he plans to announce tariffs on the pharma industry, but Reuters reported that Trump will not actually declare specific pharma tariffs today, citing sources.

Drugmakers expect that U.S. tariffs are inevitable, but they're lobbying the president to phase in the tariffs and hope to get an incremental ramp-up to the 25% tariff that Trump has threatened, rather than 25% from the jump, Reuters reports.

venture

Arie Belldegrun's Vida Ventures staffs up

Vida Ventures, the VC firm led by entrepreneur Arie Belldegrun, said this morning that it has brought in two new executives in advance of raising a new fund.

The company, which has been investing in the cell therapy field but also has expanded elsewhere, has hired longtime J.P. Morgan portfolio manager Matt Cohen and former MPM BioImpact partner Brian Goodman as managing directors, STAT's Allison DeAngelis reports. Cohen will steer public market investing — a first for Vida Ventures — while Goodman will work on creating and financing private startups.

In December, Vida cofounders Arjun Goyal and Stefan Vitorovic left the firm. Goyal and Vitorovic had been with the company since its founding in 2017, and have not yet announced their next steps.

science

Trump cuts to federal grants hit Mass General

Deepening Trump administration budget cuts have hit Mass General Brigham, the nation's largest hospital recipient of research grants, and other Massachusetts universities and hospitals, canceling tens of millions in funding and shutting down medical research programs.

The latest cuts will affect research programs awarded at least $70 million at MGB hospitals' labs over multiple years, with most of that money already paid but at least $18 million still untapped, a federal document showed, The Boston Globe reports.