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CDC Workforce Cuts Threaten U.S. Public Health Response, Survey Finds
Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been shrinking from the inside out, a trend that experts say is eroding the agency’s ability to protect public health.
A study by researchers at Michigan State University, conducted between February and April 2026, collected responses from 433 current CDC employees and 191 former staff who had left since January 2025. The survey revealed that 99 % of the 604 respondents felt that the administration’s actions had weakened the CDC’s capacity to respond to public‑health emergencies. Burnout was widespread: 85 % of current workers reported feeling exhausted, and one in five had already decided to depart.
The agency’s leadership vacuum has only deepened the crisis. In August 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to allow political interference in the agency’s science. Her dismissal sparked a wave of resignations among senior leaders and left the CDC without a director, a principal deputy director, a chief of staff, or a chief medical officer as of mid‑2026.
The consequences of these cuts are already visible. During the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, the CDC’s ability to deploy experts has been hampered by a shrinking workforce. The agency once sent more than 3,000 specialists to West Africa during the 2014‑2016 outbreak, but today it struggles to mobilize sufficient personnel. In the United States, confusion and sparse communication about measles outbreaks have been traced back to the same staffing shortfalls.
Workforce losses have been substantial. More than a quarter of the CDC’s federal employees have been eliminated since January 2025, with over 1,000 positions terminated. Additional staff were placed on administrative leave following a court order, and resignations, retirements, and contract non‑renewals have further eroded headcount.
Chronic disease and injury prevention programs have also suffered. According to the survey, only 2 % of the 142 units in this area remain fully operational. The administration’s fiscal‑year 2026 budget proposals called for eliminating these programs entirely, although the final funding bill ultimately rejected those cuts. Ninety‑five percent of respondents said that the changes would lead to increased deaths among Americans.
The ripple effects extend beyond the CDC. Roughly 80 % of the agency’s domestic budget funds state, territorial, tribal, and local public‑health programs. The sudden loss of federal support has strained state health departments’ data collection and health‑promotion activities.
The CDC’s current situation—marked by a leadership vacuum, significant workforce reductions, and programmatic cutbacks—raises serious concerns about the United States’ capacity to respond to future public‑health emergencies. Leadership positions remain vacant, burnout and turnover are high, and no official statement has announced a plan to fill the top roles or restore the workforce to pre‑2025 levels.
The next steps for the agency will likely involve congressional hearings, potential appointments to key leadership positions, and discussions about restoring funding for chronic disease and injury prevention programs. Until those actions are taken, the CDC’s ability to protect public health remains uncertain.
A study by researchers at Michigan State University, conducted between February and April 2026, collected responses from 433 current CDC employees and 191 former staff who had left since January 2025. The survey revealed that 99 % of the 604 respondents felt that the administration’s actions had weakened the CDC’s capacity to respond to public‑health emergencies. Burnout was widespread: 85 % of current workers reported feeling exhausted, and one in five had already decided to depart.
The agency’s leadership vacuum has only deepened the crisis. In August 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to allow political interference in the agency’s science. Her dismissal sparked a wave of resignations among senior leaders and left the CDC without a director, a principal deputy director, a chief of staff, or a chief medical officer as of mid‑2026.
The consequences of these cuts are already visible. During the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, the CDC’s ability to deploy experts has been hampered by a shrinking workforce. The agency once sent more than 3,000 specialists to West Africa during the 2014‑2016 outbreak, but today it struggles to mobilize sufficient personnel. In the United States, confusion and sparse communication about measles outbreaks have been traced back to the same staffing shortfalls.
Workforce losses have been substantial. More than a quarter of the CDC’s federal employees have been eliminated since January 2025, with over 1,000 positions terminated. Additional staff were placed on administrative leave following a court order, and resignations, retirements, and contract non‑renewals have further eroded headcount.
Chronic disease and injury prevention programs have also suffered. According to the survey, only 2 % of the 142 units in this area remain fully operational. The administration’s fiscal‑year 2026 budget proposals called for eliminating these programs entirely, although the final funding bill ultimately rejected those cuts. Ninety‑five percent of respondents said that the changes would lead to increased deaths among Americans.
The ripple effects extend beyond the CDC. Roughly 80 % of the agency’s domestic budget funds state, territorial, tribal, and local public‑health programs. The sudden loss of federal support has strained state health departments’ data collection and health‑promotion activities.
The CDC’s current situation—marked by a leadership vacuum, significant workforce reductions, and programmatic cutbacks—raises serious concerns about the United States’ capacity to respond to future public‑health emergencies. Leadership positions remain vacant, burnout and turnover are high, and no official statement has announced a plan to fill the top roles or restore the workforce to pre‑2025 levels.
The next steps for the agency will likely involve congressional hearings, potential appointments to key leadership positions, and discussions about restoring funding for chronic disease and injury prevention programs. Until those actions are taken, the CDC’s ability to protect public health remains uncertain.
