As the government shutdown grinds through its second week, confusion and finger-pointing have erupted over a wave of layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—including the abrupt dismissal and then reinstatement of hundreds of staff responsible for managing urgent public health crises. The debacle has not only exposed the deep partisan rift paralyzing Congress but also left federal workers and the public reeling from the consequences of Washington gridlock.
On October 10, 2025, the Trump administration issued layoff notices to more than 1,000 CDC employees, a move that stunned public health officials and immediately raised alarms about the nation’s ability to respond to ongoing outbreaks. Among those affected were key personnel working on the federal response to measles and Ebola, as well as experts in global health and disease surveillance, according to The Washington Post and CBS News. The layoffs were part of a broader reduction in force that saw more than 4,100 federal workers dismissed across agencies, as detailed in a Justice Department court filing.
The shock was compounded when, the following day, it emerged that hundreds of those CDC pink slips had been sent in error. A federal health official told The New York Times and CNN that approximately 700 CDC employees were never actually separated from the agency and were quickly notified that their jobs were safe. Andrew Nixon, communications director for the Department of Health and Human Services, confirmed to CNN, “The employees who received incorrect notifications were never separated from the agency and have all been notified that they are not subject to the reduction in force.”
Yet, even after the correction, about 600 CDC staff members remained laid off. The timing couldn’t have been worse: measles cases have continued to climb across the country, with 44 outbreaks reported so far this year, according to the CDC’s own data. The layoffs included disease detectives and global health leaders, whose absence could hinder the response to both domestic and international health threats.
The chaos at the CDC is just one facet of the larger dysfunction stemming from the government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025. The closure is the result of a bitter standoff between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate over how to fund President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. According to The Hill, Republicans have pushed for a “clean” continuing resolution that would allow the executive branch to direct funds as outlined in Trump’s July legislation—legislation that includes deep cuts to Obamacare subsidies and Medicaid, a nonstarter for Democrats. Democrats, meanwhile, have championed a bill that would fund the government through October and restore nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, but this proposal has been unanimously rejected by Senate Republicans, save for three cross-aisle votes.
Amid the fallout, Vice President JD Vance has repeatedly sought to pin blame for the CDC layoffs—and the wider shutdown—on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic lawmakers. Appearing on CBS News’s Face the Nation, Vance insisted, “That chaos is because Schumer and the far-left Democrats shut down the government.” When pressed by host Margaret Brennan about why the White House had made the decision to lay off CDC staff, Vance doubled down: “We have to do layoffs because we have to preserve necessary resources to do the most critical things that the government does. All these conversations about whether it’s a temporary layoff or a permanent layoff, we are dealing with a terrible, chaotic situation because Chuck Schumer and a few far-left Democrats decided to shut down the government.”
But Brennan wasn’t satisfied, pointing out, “That was a White House decision to lay off these individuals. You heard the president talking about that. That—that wasn’t Chuck Schumer’s decision.” Vance maintained his stance, arguing that the administration was forced into difficult choices due to the funding impasse.
The blame game hasn’t been limited to the White House. President Trump himself declared on Friday that he intends to target “a lot” of “Democrat-oriented” workers for layoffs as a consequence of the shutdown, though he did not specify how such determinations would be made. The Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment further on the criteria or process for these layoffs, HuffPost reported.
The mass firings have drawn fierce condemnation from federal employee unions. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents more than 800,000 federal workers, called the layoffs “illegal” and accused the administration of using the shutdown as an excuse to purge workers. “It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,” Kelley said in a statement. The AFGE filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on October 10, 2025, seeking to halt the dismissals.
Kelley’s frustration was palpable: “These workers show up every day to serve the American people, and for the past nine months have been met with nothing but cruelty and viciousness from President Trump. Every single American citizen should be outraged.” He added, “Federal workers are tired of being used as pawns for the political and personal gains of the elected and un-elected leaders. It’s time for Congress to do their jobs and negotiate an end to this shutdown immediately.”
The CDC’s troubles have been compounded by recent leadership upheaval. Multiple senior officials resigned in August 2025, following the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez. The agency, already stretched thin by public health emergencies, now faces the added burden of operating with a reduced workforce and diminished morale.
The Senate, for its part, remains at an impasse. A Republican-backed proposal to fund the government through November 21 was rejected by most Senate Democrats, while a Democratic-backed bill to extend funding through October and restore Medicaid cuts was blocked by nearly all Senate Republicans. Even some independents and dissenting Republicans have complicated the picture, with Sen. Rand Paul voting against the Republican proposal and three Democrats breaking ranks to support it.
As the shutdown drags on, the stakes grow ever higher—not just for federal workers, but for the millions of Americans who rely on the CDC’s expertise to manage disease outbreaks and protect public health. The confusion over layoffs, the reversal of erroneous dismissals, and the ongoing partisan warfare in Washington have left the nation’s premier public health agency in a precarious position, just when it is needed most.
With no clear resolution in sight, federal workers and the public alike are left hoping that Congress can break the deadlock before the damage becomes irreversible.
