Quoted By:
https://apnews.com/article/fda-layoffs-trump-doge-rehired-medical-devices-85d4743e4ce88dbe3b99c813bad4b702
Barely a week after mass firings at the Food and Drug Administration, some probationary staffers received unexpected news over the weekend: The government wants them back.
Beginning Friday night, FDA employees overseeing medical devices, food ingredients and other key areas received calls and emails notifying them that their recent terminations had been “rescinded effective immediately,” according to messages viewed by The Associated Press.
Four FDA staffers impacted by the decisions spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity because they planned to continue working for the agency and weren’t authorized to discuss its internal procedures.
The reversal is the latest example of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to cost-cutting, which has resulted in several agencies firing, and then scrambling to rehire, employees responsible for nuclear weapons, national parks and other government services.
The FDA reinstatements followed pushback by lobbyists for the medical device industry, which pays the agency hundreds of millions of dollars annually to hire extra scientists to review products. The industry’s leading trade group said Monday “a sizable number” of device reviewers appear to be returning to FDA.
“This would be welcome news, and I appreciate the administration for acting quickly,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said in an emailed statement. “We all share the same goal — an efficient, effective FDA review process that helps advance the medical technologies American patients depend on.”
FDA staffers said entire teams of five or more medical device reviewers had been reinstated.
In the agency’s food program, at least 10 staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new ingredients were offered their jobs back, according to a food staffer who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency matters.
Barely a week after mass firings at the Food and Drug Administration, some probationary staffers received unexpected news over the weekend: The government wants them back.
Beginning Friday night, FDA employees overseeing medical devices, food ingredients and other key areas received calls and emails notifying them that their recent terminations had been “rescinded effective immediately,” according to messages viewed by The Associated Press.
Four FDA staffers impacted by the decisions spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity because they planned to continue working for the agency and weren’t authorized to discuss its internal procedures.
The reversal is the latest example of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to cost-cutting, which has resulted in several agencies firing, and then scrambling to rehire, employees responsible for nuclear weapons, national parks and other government services.
The FDA reinstatements followed pushback by lobbyists for the medical device industry, which pays the agency hundreds of millions of dollars annually to hire extra scientists to review products. The industry’s leading trade group said Monday “a sizable number” of device reviewers appear to be returning to FDA.
“This would be welcome news, and I appreciate the administration for acting quickly,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said in an emailed statement. “We all share the same goal — an efficient, effective FDA review process that helps advance the medical technologies American patients depend on.”
FDA staffers said entire teams of five or more medical device reviewers had been reinstated.
In the agency’s food program, at least 10 staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new ingredients were offered their jobs back, according to a food staffer who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency matters.
