Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, insisted this week that reinstating some employees and programs mistakenly cut during recent mass layoffs was "always the plan."
Not so, Politico reported Friday evening.
Kennedy claimed that about one-fifth of the 10,000 firings were made in error and that those affected would be rehired.
“This overhaul is about realigning HHS with its core mission: to stop the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy posted on social media on April 1. “It’s a win-win for taxpayers, and for every American we serve.”
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By Thursday, his statement had evolved.
“The part of that, DOGE — we talked about this from the beginning — is we’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstalled, because we’ll make mistakes,” Kennedy said. “And one of the things that President Trump has said is that if we make mistakes, we’re going to admit it and we’re going to remedy it.”
But a person with knowledge of the department's plans told Politico that was never the case.
“No such plan is in the works,” the person said.
The White House's Department of Government Efficiency office, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has taken actions that led to about 216,000 job cuts of federal workers and contractors last month, according to a new report by a global outplacement firm.
Meanwhile, layoffs across the nation soared 205% last month compared to March 2024.