Trump administration cancels layoffs for some CDC employees
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Saturday canceled some layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after hundreds of scientists received “incorrect notifications” that they would be laid off during the government shutdown, according to an official familiar with the matter.
“The employees who received incorrect notices were never removed from the agency and were all notified that they were not subject to a reduction in force,” the official told NBC News. “This was due to a glitch in the system.”
Reverse layoffs Reported for the first time Written by The New York Times, it comes after the administration moved to lay off thousands of federal employees during the government shutdown, sparking a backlash from critics who argue the layoffs are illegal.
The steps to reduce the force are being challenged in court and represent the latest fallout from the government shutdown battle, which has stretched into its second week as lawmakers show no signs of getting closer to reaching an agreement.
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Layoff notices were sent for between 1,100 and 1,200 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday. Friday’s court filing noted that more than 4,000 federal workers had been laid off, though it’s unclear how that number changed after the administration moved to reverse some CDC layoffs.
HHS and the Treasury Department originally accounted for more than half of the total layoffs, according to the court filing.
Vice President J.D. Vance addressed the reversed layoffs in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” saying that “a government shutdown will inevitably lead to some chaos.”
“We’re thinking about how to take money from some areas and give it to other areas,” he said, continuing to blame Democrats.
The layoffs were necessary to preserve critical government jobs, Vance said, adding that when that happens, “you’re going to have some chaos.”
Addressing moderator Margaret Brennan, he continued: “You will, frankly, Margaret, lay off people the White House does not want to lay off.” “We would love to reopen the government and make sure those essential services continue, but unfortunately, in an environment where we’re dealing with limited resources where the government is shut down, we have to move some things around. And in that moving, there’s some chaos, there’s some unpredictability.”
In a separate interview with Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Vance said that “the longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts will be.”
He added: “To be clear, some of these cuts will be painful.” “This is not a situation we enjoy. This is not something we aspire to, but Democrats have dealt us a very difficult deck of cards.”
Democrats continued to pressure Republicans to negotiate Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, which could lead to higher premiums. Republicans are urging Democratic senators to shift their support to a short-term clean funding bill. Funding proposals led by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have failed several times.