FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Government Efficiency terminated employment for 3,600 probationary Health and Human Services employees on Friday — but went through a careful process to exclude those who were serving in specialized or critical roles.
More than half of the agency’s probationary employees were retained.
The cuts are estimated to save about $600 million in taxpayer dollars annually.
DOGE SAYS IT DUG UP ANOTHER $1.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY ‘MISPLACED’ BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump meets with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House, on Thursday, Feb. 13. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Probationary employees who were excluded from layoffs include:
- Employees working on refugee and resettlement within the Administration of Children and Families (ACF)
- Employees working on emergency preparedness and response within Administration for Strategy Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other divisions of HHS
- Scientists conducting research at the CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Frontline healthcare providers at the Indian Health Service (HIS)
- Employees working on Medicare and Medicaid at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Employees reviewing and approving drugs or conducting inspections at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
DOGE identified critical employees by first considering key functions of HHS — frontline healthcare providers, scientists conducting innovative research, personnel responding to emergencies – followed by employee roles, including work history, background, and job title screenings.
NEW SEN. JIM JUSTICE ‘ABSOLUTELY’ SHOCKED BY DEMOCRATS’ RESPONSE TO ELON MUSK’S DOGE REVELATIONS
Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside the Department of Health and Human Services, Friday, Feb. 14, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
“In many cases where there was a lack of…
