RFK Jr. Slashes HHS Workforce by 20,000, Closes Half of Regional Offices in Major Restructure

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is leading one of the most aggressive government overhauls in recent history, announcing Thursday that he will cut 20,000 jobs from the department and close half of its regional offices.

The restructuring will reduce the HHS headcount from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees, a move Kennedy says is more than just about shrinking the department; it’s about redefining its mission.

“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl,” Kennedy said. “We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic.”

This move is part of a broader federal initiative backed by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who now oversees the Department of Government Efficiency. Together, they’ve been pushing to dramatically downsize the federal workforce and streamline government operations.

Under Kennedy’s plan, 28 existing HHS units will be consolidated into just 15 newly structured divisions. Among them is a new flagship division called the “Administration for a Healthy America” (AHA), which will focus on combating rising rates of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

The department shake-up builds on prior voluntary departures and retirement incentives rolled out over the past year. While the move will eliminate tens of thousands of positions, Kennedy says it’s part of a larger strategy to make the department more agile, effective, and focused on public health outcomes, not red tape.

This is one of the most substantial departmental restructurings since the founding of HHS in 1979, and it reflects the Trump administration’s continued effort to shrink what they describe as an overextended federal bureaucracy.