McClellan Fights Back Against U.S. Health Agency Mass Firings

Washington, D.C. – Amidst widespread firings at federal health agencies, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) calls out the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans after Elon Musk’s DOGE purged thousands of personnel from the U.S. health agencies responsible for conducting lifesaving cancer research, mitigating ongoing measles outbreaks, ensuring medication safety and efficacy, and preventing and treating opioid addiction. 

“These drastic federal workforce cuts will delay lifesaving treatments and put more demand on state and local health agencies that are simultaneously hit with federal funding cuts,” said Congresswoman McClellan. “The Trump Administration is forcing these agencies to do more with less.”

Recent reports indicate the Virginia Department of Health has been hit particularly hard after the Trump Administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding, resulting in reductions in community health programs and layoffs statewide for community health workers, nurses and epidemiologists.

The Trump Administration has wreaked havoc on federal health agencies, including a rash wave of layoffs last Tuesday followed by a small portion of reinstatements after Musk’s DOGE cut key personnel by “mistake.”

Last week, Congresswoman McClellan introduced a bill to enforce a moratorium on RIFs at HHS.

“These federal workforce cuts and ‘mistakes’ aren’t just a line item in a budget that can be deleted,” said Congresswoman McClellan. “The Trump Administration and Musk’s DOGE are destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Virginians who have dedicated their careers to developing cures for cancer and rare diseases, combating the opioid epidemic, and keeping the American people healthy. Abandoning years of tax-payer investment in research and public health programs does not foster efficiency; it puts the American people at risk.”

Bill text for H.R. 2532 can be found here.