The Food and Drug Administration is one of the most consequential institutions in American public life. It regulates products that account for over 20 cents of every consumer dollar. It ensures the safety of the food we eat, the drugs we take, and the medical devices that sustain and save lives. Yet, in a time of rapid technological advancement and increasingly complex health threats, the FDA has been kneecapped by a wave of layoffs executed by Trump administration budget-cutters that cast a long shadow over the future of America’s medical innovation and public health.
In what officials touted as a bold move to “shrink the size of government,” the Department of Health and Human Services, under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., carried out a “reduction-in-force” targeting nearly 3,500 FDA employees — roughly 20% of the agency’s workforce. Although front-line reviewers and inspectors were mainly spared, the exodus of administrative, policy, technical, and communications staff has caused a ripple effect of disruption and dysfunction.
“We are underwater,” said one FDA device reviewer, speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation. “Innovation is slowed, and that means patients wait longer for life-saving treatments. This isn’t theoretical — it’s happening now.”
Biotech companies developing drugs for hard-to-treat diseases and other ailments are already delaying clinical trials and drug testing in the wake of the massive FDA layoffs.
A related challenge facing the agency is that many of the decision-makers who approve final applications, some with decades of regulatory experience, were among those abruptly fired without time to transfer their responsibilities.
The recently appointed head of the FDA, Dr. Marty Makary, has publicly insisted the layoffs were part of an effort to increase efficiency and teamwork.
