"Worries Grow Over Risks To Americans As Trump Cuts Health, Safety Agencies"

"The chorus of experts issuing warnings include Republican lawmakers, former Trump officials and civil servants who worked under GOP and Democratic presidents."

"Somewhere on a grocery shelf, or in a restaurant, or on a food-factory floor in America, lurk bacteria that haven’t been detected yet. Perhaps E. coli, which is linked with food poisoning, or more of the cronobacter that led to infant illnesses, sparked a nationwide shortage of infant formula in 2022 and led to major reforms at the Food and Drug Administration.

The task of finding those bacteria rests on FDA inspectors, whose jobs have been mostly preserved amid the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal government. But the people who help support those inspections haven’t fared so well. More than 150 people in the FDA’s Office of Inspections and Investigations — the staff responsible for purchasing supplies, managing trips and coordinating other administrative functions — were laid off last week, according to multiple federal officials. So were staff dedicated to food-safety policies and regulations, including an entire office that partnered with foreign countries to handle food-related disease outbreaks. Meanwhile, the FDA’s top food safety official — a position created after the infant formula crisis — resigned in February, citing “indiscriminate” staffing cuts to his office.

The cuts tee up “the next infant formula crisis waiting to happen,” said one current FDA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal."

Dan Diamond and Hannah Natanson report for the Washington Post April 6, 2025.

SEE ALSO:

"Here’s Where Jobs And Programs Are Being Cut At The Nation’s Top Health Agencies" (AP)

"What’s Lost: Trump Whacks Tiny Agency That Works To Make the Nation’s Health Care Safer" (KFF Health News)

"US Health Agency Layoffs Gut Mine Safety, Infertility And Smoking Programs" (Guardian)

"Trump Layoffs Begin To Erode FDA Drug Review System" (Reuters)

"Trump Administration Cutting Vital Health And Safety Services For Miners" (Appalachian Voices)

"Trump Administration Eviscerates Maternal And Child Health Programs" (Guardian)

"Layoffs Threaten US Firefighter Cancer Registry, Mine Research And Mask Lab" (AP)

"Union Warns Of Safety Risks As HHS Prepares To Cut Spokane NIOSH Employees" (KREM)

"Local Congressman to Trump: Unfire NIOSH Workers" (Cincinnati Business Courier)