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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are underway as part of a sweeping effort to remake the agency responsible for public health, food safety and medical research.
Employees began receiving notices on Tuesday that their jobs were being eliminated. It came after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that HHS would eliminate 10,000 jobs—the majority of them from public health agencies—as part of a restructuring plan that would reduce the agency's 28 divisions to 15.
"Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs," Kennedy wrote in a post on X. But he added that the department needs to be "recalibrated to emphasize prevention, not just sick care."
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He added that "the overhaul is about realigning HHS with its core mission: to stop the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. It's a win-win for taxpayers, and for every American we serve."
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Contracts Canceled
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, on Tuesday provided another update about contracts that have been canceled.
Agencies terminated 80 contracts with a "ceiling value" of $203.6 million on Tuesday, leading to savings of $139.1 million, DOGE said in a post on X.
The canceled contracts included a State Department contract worth $2.1 million for a "senior adviser in the Democratic Republic of Congo," the post said.
How Many Jobs Has DOGE Cut So Far?
Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced across numerous federal agencies.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees, according to the Associated Press.
It has also been reported that the Internal Revenue Service plans to lose about 18,000 employees—about 20 percent of its workforce. Meanwhile, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress that 10,000 workers at the United States Postal Service would be cut.
The Department of Education has announced plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees, while the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting 80,000 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the AP in March.
The Pentagon reportedly plans to cut its civilian workforce by about 50,000 to 60,000 people.
At least 24,000 probationary workers have been terminated since Trump took office, according to a lawsuit filed by nearly 20 states alleging the mass firings are illegal. In March, two federal judges ordered 19 federal agencies to reinstate fired probationary workers.
Meanwhile, about 75,000 federal workers accepted the offer to quit in return for receiving pay and benefits until September 30.
How Much Spending Has DOGE Cut So Far?
DOGE has said its efforts have saved the federal government an estimated $140 billion as of March 30. Elon Musk, who heads the department, initially said his goal was to trim $2 trillion from the federal budget but backtracked in January, saying there was a "good shot" of cutting half that amount.
DOGE says the receipts provided on its website—showing contract, grant, and lease cancellations—represent about 30 percent of total savings, meaning the top-line figure is not yet verifiable.
According to the Musk Watch DOGE Tracker designed by data analyst Brian Banks, the verifiable savings were about $7.7 billion as of March 25, including actual savings from contracts and real estate. The tracker says grants are unlabeled and cannot be verified.
Is DOGE a Government Agency?
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office on January 20, officially creating DOGE to modernize "federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
Despite its name, it is not a government agency created by an Act of Congress but a task force that targets waste and fraud in the federal government.
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