Following widespread layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged that some essential programs were mistakenly cut and would be reinstated.
In an interview with ABC News, Kennedy responded to concerns about a key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) division focused on monitoring and preventing childhood lead poisoning — a program that was gutted during Tuesday’s job cuts.
“There were some programs that were cut that are being reinstated, and I believe that’s one,” Kennedy said.
The secretary added that additional HHS programs and personnel would be brought back, clarifying that not all positions eliminated were part of the original scope set by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk. The agency was tasked with slashing administrative roles such as communications and human resources — not research or public health programs.
“We’re streamlining the agencies. We’re going to make it work for public health, make it work for the American people,” Kennedy said. “In the course of that, there were a number of instances where studies that should not have been cut were cut. We’ve reinstated them. Personnel that should not have been cut were cut — we’re reinstating them, and that was always the plan.”
But the message hasn’t yet reached everyone. Erik Svendsen, director of the CDC division overseeing the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, told ABC News he received no indication that his team’s work would resume or continue under another branch.
Kennedy did not specify which programs are being reinstated or when affected employees would be asked to return. ABC News has reached out to HHS for clarification.
This is not the first time DOGE-led cuts have been reversed. In a previous round of layoffs targeting probationary employees, hundreds of CDC and FDA workers were later rehired following internal reviews.
“One of the things President Trump has said is that if we make mistakes, we’re going to admit it and remedy it,” Kennedy said. “And that’s one of the mistakes.”
Despite acknowledging the missteps, Kennedy maintained that the restructuring has not impacted science, health delivery, or front-line enforcement jobs, reiterating that essential services remain intact.
