The dust is still settling at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after a mass layoff Friday, which former employees at the beleaguered agency are describing as a massacre.
In separate press briefings Tuesday, a network of terminated CDC staff that goes by the name the National Public Health Coalition, and the union representing employees at the agency discussed what the wide-scale cuts mean for the American people, as well as the trauma, despair, and damage they have wreaked on the workers of the once-premier public health agency.
In a normal federal layoff—called a reduction in force, or RIF—the agency would be given a full outline of the roles and branches or divisions affected, as well as some explanation for the cuts, such as alleged fraud, abuse, or redundancy. But, the Trump administration has provided no such information or explanation, leaving current and former employees to essentially crowd source what has been lost and only guess at the possible reasons.
