RFK Jr.’s Bold Health Overhaul: 20,000 Jobs Removed & $1.8B in Savings—Is America’s Public Health System on the Brink?

Overview:

 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has begun his Make America Healthy Again(MAHA) agenda with his very own Department of Health and Human Services. As part of a ‘reduction in force’ plan, Kennedy is cutting about 10,000 full-time jobs, reducing the department’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 when combined with some earlier layoffs and voluntary resignations. The HHS is set to consolidate from twenty-eight to fifteen divisions and a reduction from ten regional offices to five. The agency claimed this reduction would save $1.8 billion annually, about 0.1% of the HHS’s annual budget. 

Kennedy's Reasoning:

Kennedy’s approach to restructuring the HHS stems from this second Trump administration's view that much of the government, especially health-related agencies, is inefficient and expendable. During his Senate confirmation, Kennedy vowed to eliminate “an entire alphabet soup of departments” by merging all redundant committees and agencies into the new Administration for Healthy America(AHA). Kennedy justified this consolidation by promoting it as a way to streamline operations within the HHS and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. This would allow for what Kennedy says is a ‘unified sense of mission’. 

Kennedy’s strategy is also bolstered by support from other elements of the Trump administration, most notably, Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency(DOGE). DOGE has cut grants and jobs from essentially every government agency you can think of. DOGE claims it has saved the U.S. $140 billion and every taxpayer over $800. 

Here are Kennedy’s main three reasons for the cuts: 

1. Under the Biden administration, HHS budget and staffing increased with no success

Kennedy claims that despite this increased expenditure into the HHS, no health issues have been solved, and the rates of chronic disease and cancer have increased.

2. The HHS is a ‘sprawling bureaucracy’ 

With the numerous agencies under the HHS for every new problem that arises, duplication ensues, many wasteful committees are added, and progress is stalled.  

3. No morale and no unified mission

With all the ‘little fiefdoms’ and internal competition among subsectors of the HHS, there is a lack of unity, diminishing the ultimate goal of the HHS to make America healthier. Kennedy even claimed that half of the HHS staff doesn’t come to work.

RFK showing off his new line of MAHA merch

Criticism of the Cuts:

Critics suggest that despite this massive cut’s expected short-term solidity, they could have dangerous, long-term consequences for public health. One of the main division reductions in the CDC is the Department of Global Health. This is work done internationally to help prevent infectious diseases spread in other countries. However, this indirectly helps the U.S. as we are able to prevent any viruses from ending up on our shores. Secretary of the HHS under Biden, Xavier Becerra said in an interview with ABC that these firings and grant removals would cause the U.S. to lose some of its brightest scientific minds, possibly losing its status as a hub of scientific research and innovation in the world. 

The Office of Minority Health, a division focused on eliminating health disparities in the U.S.  was another victim of the mass purging. So were programs focused on domestic HIV prevention and gun violence. All of these cut programs and grants are an afterthought of the HHS’s new focus to end ‘America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins.’ This is a strategy that critics argue not only sidelines pressing issues but also risks exacerbating existing inequities in the United States. While a rearrangement of the organization is a plan of some merit, the idea of chopping this incredibly important department with an axe will drastically alter the federal government's health system one way or another. Can less really be more? We’ll see in the coming months and years of the Trump and RFK Jr. administrations. 

Conclusion:

Massive Restructuring: 

RFK Jr. is spearheading a significant cut of his HHS, getting rid of approximately 10,000 full-time jobs and consolidating divisions and offices to save $1.8 billion annually.

Streamlining for Unity: 

Kennedy argues that the rapid growth of the HHS under the Biden administration has led to inefficiencies. Kennedy’s staff and department cuts are meant to reduce redundancy and give the HHS a unified mission. This is an approach bolstered by support from Trump-era initiatives like Elon Musk’s DOGE.

Targeting Bureaucratic Bloat: 

By eliminating what he terms “an entire alphabet soup of departments,” Kennedy aims to end the massive bureaucracy rooted in the HHS that prevents meaningful action from being taken.  

Criticism and Concerns: 

Critics warn that these cuts may have dire long-term consequences for public health, including diminished international disease prevention efforts and a loss of crucial expertise in critical areas like minority health, HIV prevention, and gun violence prevention. The cutting of many research grants could also lead to reduced medical innovation in the U.S., causing us to fall behind other major industrialized countries.

Uncertain Outcomes: While Kennedy’s reorganization and cuts might see some short-term economic success, the long-term efficacy of this plan leaves Americans wary of the future of the U.S. public health system.