March 27, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today issued the following statement on the mass firing of 10,000 federal workers at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

“Amid major health challenges, including outbreaks of bird flu and measles Trump and RFK Jr. are undertaking an extreme and dangerous purge of health and medical expertise from the Department of Health and Human Services.

“They’re taking a hatchet to medical research for cures to diseases and gutting the workforce that administers Medicare and Medicaid and supports individuals with disabilities and new moms. And they’re drastically undercutting our ability to fight future epidemics, if they should arise, and present-day health crises including the opioid epidemic and massive strains on America’s mental health infrastructure.

“I am also horrified to see the functional elimination of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, our point agency on research to improve the health care delivery and efficiency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, which leads efforts to improve access to care for the uninsured. They’re making these cuts to essential health-providing agencies to put more money into billionaires’ pockets.

“Meanwhile RFK Jr. is bringing in a team of kooks, loons, and weirdos to throw out sound science on vaccines that has saved tens of millions of lives. The American people will undoubtedly suffer harmful consequences if this plan is carried out.”