Trump admin lays out who exactly was cut at HHS in face of ‘Democrat hysteria’
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) still employs more people than it did in 2019, despite “Democrat hysteria” over recent cuts within the department’s agencies, Fox News Digital exclusively learned.
A senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that there have been 6,000 departures from HHS since Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. The agency, however, still employs nearly 6,000 more people than it did in 2019, including more than 2,000 employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relative to 2019 numbers, and 1,200 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Hiring at HHS ballooned between fiscal year 2019 and 2024, the senior Trump administration official said, with 17% more full-time employees by 2024. Fifty percent of overall jobs in the U.S. that were created in 2024 were indirect or direct government jobs, the official added.
“Democrat hysteria about essential offices in HHS being culled — again, every operating division has either more or roughly stagnant headcount relative to” fiscal year 2019, a senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital.
ACADEMIC UNIONS PLAN DEMONSTRATIONS OUTSIDE HHS BUILDING, AT MED SCHOOLS, TO PROTEST TRUMP RESEARCH CUTS
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed and sworn-in as the nation’s 26th secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday, when President Donald Trump also signed an executive order creating the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which is “investigating and addressing the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis.” The commission initially will focus its investigations into childhood chronic diseases, such as autism.
News reports spread shortly after Kennedy’s confirmation that widespread layoffs were headed to HHS employees, including within the CDC and FDA. The Trump administration is in the midst of working to streamline the federal government by cutting overspending and stamping out potential fraud or mismanagement, which has included mass layoffs at various agencies.
RFK JR’S HEALTH AGENDA GAINS POPULARITY AMONG STATE LAWMAKERS
The head of the FDA’s food division, Jim Jones, submitted his resignation letter Monday, according to various news reports, arguing the administration’s “indiscriminate firing” of staff in his division will be a “roadblock to achieving the Secretary’s stated objectives of making America healthy again.”
“I was looking forward to working to pursue the Department’s agenda of improving the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic disease and risks from chemicals in food,” Jones said. “It has been increasingly clear that with the Trump Administration’s disdain for the very people necessary to implement your agenda, however, it would have been fruitless for me to continue in this role.”
Federal employees also staged a protest outside HHS in Washington, D.C., on Friday, while a cohort of academic unions around the country are rallying the science community to join another protest outside HHS on Wednesday, billed as a “National Day of Action.”
TRUMP’S ‘MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN’ COMMISSION TO TARGET AUTISM, CHRONIC DISEASES
The Trump administration explained to Fox News Digital that those who were terminated over the weekend included probationary employees — who are individuals recently hired by the agency and still under consideration for long-term employment.
“Not people carrying longtime essential ‘institutional’ knowledge,” the admin official said of those terminated.
The recent HHS culling over the weekend did not include key personnel focused on emergency preparedness and response within the Administration for Strategy Preparedness and Response (ASPR), the CDC and other divisions of HHS, nor did it cull research scientists at the CDC or National Institutes of Health, or frontline healthcare providers at the Indian Health Service, employees working on Medicare and Medicaid at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or those reviewing and approving drugs or conducting inspections at FDA.
Additionally, employees working on refugee resettlement within the Administration of Children and Families were exempt from the weekend layoffs.
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO BLOCK FEDERAL MONEY FOR SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES WITH COVID VACCINE MANDATES
“Cuts we made at HHS over the weekend did not compromise health and safety of Americans,” the admin official added.
Kennedy vowed during his Senate confirmation hearings that he would scrutinize the department’s previous modus operandi, remove potential financial conflicts and ensure tax dollars were spent on both bolstering healthy foods for Americans, and providing “unbiased” scientific reports.
“We will make sure our tax dollars support healthy foods. We will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. We will remove the financial conflicts of interest in our agencies,” he told the Senate Finance Committee in describing his goals. “We will create an honest, unbiased, science-driven HHS, accountable to the president, to Congress, and to the American people.”
Both Kennedy and Trump pledged on the campaign trail to “Make America Healthy Again,” including directing their focus on autism among youths in recent years. The recently minted MAHA commission will investigate chronic conditions for both adults and children, including those related to autism, which the White House said affects one in 36 children.
The commission is expected to publish “an assessment that summarizes what is known and what questions remain regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis, and include international comparisons,” within 100 days of the commission’s founding. Within 180 days, it is expected to “produce a strategy, based on the findings of the assessment, to improve the health of America’s children,” Fox Digital reported.
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Since Kennedy’s confirmation, state-level lawmakers have introduced a wave of bills aimed at advancing priorities championed by Kennedy and the MAHA movement, including prohibiting junk food like candy and soda from school lunches and other bills aimed at amending state vaccine rules.
Network anchor’s response to JD Vance leaves legal scholar dumbfounded
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley praised Vice President JD Vance for criticizing German censorship laws during his speech to the Munich Security Conference, where the vice president called out organizers for banning both far-left and far-right wing parties. Turley also reacted on “America’s Newsroom,” Tuesday to a CBS host blaming the Holocaust on free-speech.
VANCE IS RIGHT ABOUT FREE SPEECH. THAT’S WHAT MAKES EU AND US LEFTISTS SO MAD
JONATHAN TURLEY:
Vance called out the organizers of the Munich conference, who he said had “banned lawmakers representing populist parties on both the left and the right from participating in these conversations.”
Vance said the continent’s recent censorship activities were a bigger threat to its existence than Russia, “The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor,” he said in an address at the Munich Security Conference. “What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”
The VP continued, “The crisis this continent faces right now, the crisis I believe we all face together, is one of our own making. If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”
VANCE JOKES ABOUT GRETA THUNBERG AS HE GOES SCORCHED EARTH ON EUROPEAN CENSORSHIP
CBS host Margaret Brennan then made what many called an “incredibly dumb” and “deeply ignorant” statement claiming Nazi Germany “weaponized free speech” during her show on Sunday.
The “Face the Nation” host clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week. After Vance criticized European allies for adopting a “Soviet”-style approach to censorship, Brennan implied free speech likely led to the Holocaust.
Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said he “almost spit out [his] coffee” when he saw Brennan’s statement.
TURLEY:
The exchange quickly went viral with several conservative users calling out Brennan for a “bonkers” take on Nazi Germany.
JD Vance responded to the clip, calling the comments “crazy.”
“This is a crazy exchange. Does the media really think the holocaust was caused by free speech?” Vance wrote.
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Elon Musk surprises Trump with revelation about his 2024 endorsement
DOGE chief Elon Musk revealed details about his thought process on endorsing President Trump during a sit-down interview with Trump and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that the president said he had not heard before.
“I was going to do it anyway,” Musk said during the interview that aired Tuesday night when Hannity mentioned that his endorsement of Trump came after an attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania on the campaign trail.
“That was it?” Hannity said.
“That was a precipitating event,” Musk said.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: TRUMP, ELON MUSK’S DOGE TEAM ARE DOING WHAT DEMOCRATS PROMISED ‘FOR DECADES’
“That sped it up a little bit?” Trump then said to Musk. “I didn’t know that.”
Musk responded, “It sped it up, but I was going to do it anyway.”
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Musk announced that he “fully supports” former President Trump after gunshots rang out at his Pennsylvania rally in July in a move that many, including some Democrats, believe played a significant role in Trump’s campaign.
“Not even just that he has endorsed [Trump], but the fact that now he’s becoming an active participant and showing up and doing rallies and things like that,” Dem. Sen. John Fetterman told the New York Times in October, explaining that the enormously successful Tesla and SpaceX CEO is an attractive figure for the kinds of voters Harris needs to win.
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“I mean, [Musk] is incredibly successful, and, you know, I think some people would see him as, like, a Tony Stark,” said Fetterman, referencing the popular Marvel Comics character. “Democrats, you know, kind of make light of it, or they make fun of him jumping up and down and things like that. And I would just say that they are doing that at our peril.”
In an interview with CNN, Fetterman added, “Endorsements, they’re really not meaningful often, but this one is, I think. That has me concerned.”
CNN host stunned by former Social Security head’s response to questions about fraud
Former Social Security commissioner Martin O’Malley considered the suggestion that the agency is “rife with fraud” laughable on “CNN News Central” Tuesday.
O’Malley, who served as the Social Security Administration (SSA) commissioner under President Biden from 2023 to 2024, discussed the report that the acting SSA head Michelle King had quit her job after clashing with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over access to data.
“Elon Musk has claimed that SSA is rife with fraud, suggesting that benefits are being paid to dead people, that millions and millions of dollars are going to waste,” CNN host Boris Sanchez said.
O’Malley began laughing at the accusation.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: TRUMP, ELON MUSK’S DOGE TEAM ARE DOING WHAT DEMOCRATS PROMISED ‘FOR DECADES’
“You‘re laughing, but that is a concern that a lot of Americans have, is it not?” Sanchez asked as O’Malley continued laughing. “Is it a laughing matter?”
“Yeah,” O’Malley answered, still laughing. “He has no idea what he’s talking about. There is not like a zombie apocalypse of people, you know, cadavers running around with Social Security checks coming out of their pockets.”
He then admitted that “it’s a big agency,” so there are “outliers.”
“It‘s 72.5 million people. Sometimes really desperate people will try to hide the fact that grandma died, so they get a couple more checks,” O’Malley said.
He added, “More often, because of the checks we have in place where we interrupt payments of people over a certain age, especially if they stop receiving Medicare benefits… more usual is that we have to restore benefits when we erroneously cut them off, when somebody moves out of the country or something.”
O’Malley criticized Musk for putting out claims that he “can never back up.”
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“Ask Elon Musk, show me the 12 people that are 150 years old. He can’t. Show me the 200 million that are still receiving checks. He can’t. These 19-year-old nitwits from DOGE that are violating the law and plucking people’s personal identifying information, they don’t know what they’re looking at,” O’Malley said.
Musk has claimed that more than 20 million names listed in the Social Security database were over 100 years old, including more than 3.9 million in the 130-139 age range, more than 3.5 million in the 140-149 range and more than 1.3 million in the 150-159 range. He did not say how many were still receiving benefits.
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The real reasons why popular fast-food chain and others are leaving California
California, once the land of opportunity, innovation and prosperity, is seeing an exodus of businesses moving their headquarters to other states. The latest came on February 13, when In-N-Out Burger decided to close its Irvine, California, headquarters after 30 years. The company is consolidating its West Coast offices into one location in Baldwin Park, California. In-N-Out is opening a new eastern territory headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.
While Democrats in Sacramento and Gavinomics continue to push big-government policies, over-regulation and sky-high taxes, companies are voting with their feet and heading for more business-friendly environments. What was once the epicenter of entrepreneurship is now a state suffocating under its own policies, driving out job creators and economic growth. It’s no wonder the Golden State isn’t so golden anymore.
1. Crushing taxes and anti-business policies
California’s tax policies are among the most punitive in the nation. The state imposes a top marginal income tax rate of 13.3% — the highest in the country — and a corporate tax rate of 8.84%. Compare that to states like Texas and Florida, where there is zero state income tax, and it’s easy to see why businesses are fleeing.
SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE BUDGET FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAUNTS BLUE STATE TAXPAYERS
Or, even closer to home, states like Nevada, which has zero taxes as well, and why Hollywood elites are literally moving across the border and California is implementing an exit tax on wealthy people who want to leave the state.
Beyond just high tax rates, California continuously implements anti-business policies. The passage of AB5, which severely restricts independent contractors and freelancers, has wreaked havoc on industries that rely on flexible employment models. Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom thought a $20-an-hour minimum wage would solve the problem, but it just keeps the cost of eating out at the highest levels in the country.
2. Overregulation and government overreach
California politicians love regulations. In their quest for an overbearing government that micromanages businesses, they’ve created one of the most hostile environments for job creators. Companies must navigate thousands of pages of employment laws, environmental restrictions, and endless bureaucracy.
Take, for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act — a well-intentioned, but overcomplicated, law that adds massive compliance costs for businesses, particularly small and mid-sized companies. Then there’s the state’s aggressive environmental policies, such as the push for electric vehicles and net-zero emissions, which force companies into costly compliance measures that drive up operational expenses. This is exactly the reason that business owners want to get back to the idea of small government, less regulation and letting the free market decide what makes sense.
3. Skyrocketing cost of living
California’s exorbitant cost of living is another factor pushing businesses away. Employees struggle to afford housing in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, where median home prices are well above $800,000. The state’s insistence on stringent zoning laws and environmental restrictions has exacerbated the housing crisis, making it nearly impossible to build affordable homes.
For businesses, this means higher wages just to keep up with the inflated cost of living, which in turn raises costs for consumers. Companies that want to attract and retain top talent are finding it much easier to relocate to states where employees can afford to buy a home and raise a family. It’s why Nashville and Atlanta have absolutely boomed over the past decade.
4. Crime, homelessness and deteriorating cities
California’s once-thriving cities are now riddled with crime, homelessness and failing public infrastructure. San Francisco, once a beacon of economic prosperity, is now better known for open-air drug markets, rampant theft and businesses shuttering their doors due to unchecked lawlessness.
Companies like Nordstrom and Walgreens have closed major locations due to out-of-control shoplifting, thanks in part to lenient policies like Proposition 47, which decriminalized theft under $950.
Businesses do not want to operate in cities where employees don’t feel safe, and customers are deterred by rising crime. Yet, California’s leftist leaders refuse to address these issues, instead blaming everyone but themselves for the collapse of law and order.
California politicians love regulations. In their quest for an overbearing government that micromanages businesses, they’ve created one of the most hostile environments for job creators. Companies must navigate thousands of pages of employment laws, environmental restrictions, and endless bureaucracy.
5. The remote work revolution: Breaking free from California’s grip
The rise of remote work has accelerated the California business exodus. The COVID-19 pandemic proved that employees and companies could thrive without being tied to a physical location. Now that businesses can relocate their operations without disrupting productivity, they are choosing states with lower taxes, fewer regulations and a better quality of life for their employees.
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Instead of recognizing this shift and making California more attractive for businesses, state leaders doubled down on bad policies, pushing wealth out of the state at an alarming rate.
Business-friendly states are winning
As California drives businesses away, states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee are welcoming them with open arms. These states offer zero state income tax, lower corporate taxes, fewer regulations and pro-business leadership that incentivizes job creation rather than punishing it.
Texas, for example, has become a magnet for companies like Tesla, Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, which all moved their headquarters out of California in search of a better economic environment. Meanwhile, Florida, under strong conservative leadership, continues to attract financial and tech firms looking for stability and growth opportunities.
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There’s a reason the burger company went In-N-Out of California
According to the Hoover Institution, over 350 businesses moved their headquarters out of California from 2018 to 2021. Eleven of those were Fortune 1000 companies. In-N-Out Burger has been a staple of the West Coast fast food as Chick-Fil-A has been to the Southeast United States. So many of us that live on the East Coast only get a chance to eat from the fast-food chain when we make a West Coast swing. With the state of California becoming the most expensive and difficult place to do business, in my view, In-N-Out decided it was time to take the drive through lane for a different change of scenery where taxes are low, regulation is lighter and people are excited for free enterprise.
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Scandal-plagued mayor and boyfriend hit with lawsuit over board meeting brawl
The controversial mayor of Dolton, Illinois, and others were sued over a brawl that broke out during a heated township board meeting in January.
Lavell Redmond and Jedidiah Brown filed lawsuits against scandal-plagued Mayor Tiffany Henyard and several others. Both of the plaintiffs allege that the brawl constituted “retaliation for exercising” the rights to free speech, expression and association, court documents obtained by Fox32 show.
The violent brawl broke out after Brown, a well-known critic of Henyard, delivered scathing remarks directed at the “super mayor,” which he concluded by saying “you gone, b—-.” This apparently angered Henyard’s boyfriend, Kamal Woods, who is also named as a defendant in both lawsuits.
DOLTON MAYOR TIFFANY HENYARD INVOLVED IN BOARD MEETING BRAWL BETWEEN BOYFRIEND, ACTIVIST
Woods and Brown were seen throwing punches at each other in bystander video. Henyard also runs into the fray, but it is unclear whether she was participating in the fight or trying to break it up. However, she is accused of hitting Brown and Redmond with her microphone, according to both lawsuits.
Redmond alleges in his lawsuit that he tried to “mediate and prevent any physical altercation” before Woods got physical. According to the lawsuit, Redmond then punched Woods in an attempt to defend himself and Brown.
The South Holland Police Department and Thorton Township security are accused of failing to intervene in the violent brawl in both lawsuits.
EMBATTLED ILLINOIS MAYOR DECLARES ‘I AM YOUR ROSA PARKS’ AMID LEADERSHIP FEUD
The January brawl is far from Henyard’s first scandal. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot found that Henyard engaged in a “systemic effort” to cover up overspending.
Lightfoot’s bombshell report stated that the city’s credit card spending spiked to $779,638 in 2023, with little to no tracking. City credit cards were also used to pay for large trips to Las Vegas in both 2022 and 2023, and the report claims, “There is no evidence that any business development opportunities came to the village as a result of either of these two trips.”
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A few days prior to Lightfoot’s report, Henyard was found in contempt of court for stonewalling liquor licenses. The owners of St. Patrick’s restaurant and banquet hall accused Henyard of not signing their liquor license despite repeatedly promising to do so.
Embattled EV maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Electric-truck maker Nikola Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday after the company failed to overcome market and macroeconomic challenges.
“Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate,” CEO Steve Girsky said in a statement.
Girsky said the company has taken “numerous actions” to raise capital, reduce liabilities, clean up its balance sheet and preserve cash to sustain operations in recent months, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the “significant challenges” the company had been facing. He said that filing for bankruptcy protection was the “best possible path forward” for the company and its stakeholders.
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As of Wednesday, Nikola has around $47 million in cash to keep things running while it tries to sell off assets and reorganize. The company is also seeking court approval to sell its assets quickly to make sure it has enough money to cover costs during the bankruptcy process.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the company, which went public in 2020 and, in short order, formed a strategic partnership with General Motors in which the Detroit automaker received a $2 billion equity stake in Nikola.
Founder Trevor Milton, who stepped down in 2020, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2023 for engaging in securities and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud and mislead investors about the development of products and technology at Nikola, according to prosecutors.
In 2023, the company recalled hundreds of its big-rig trucks and halted sales of others after it discovered that a coolant leak inside a single battery pack was found to be the probable cause of the truck fire at the company’s headquarters in Phoenix in June of that year.
EV MAKER FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY AFTER HEMORRHAGING CASH
In addition to weak demand and operational challenges, the company has seen rapid turnover within its C-suite. Three different CEOs took over within a two-year period. Girsky took the helm in August 2023, but even under his leadership, the company’s capital was rapidly decreasing.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NKLA | NIKOLA CORP. | 0.48 | -0.29 | -37.69% |
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“We are examining every opportunity to optimize cash,” Girsky said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call in October. He estimated that the company only had enough cash to fund its forecasted operating costs and meet its obligations through the first fiscal quarter of 2025.
Its stock has plunged more than 70% year to date.
“The electric vehicle industry has continued to struggle amid increasing competition, operational challenges and high costs, leading most EV manufacturers that turn to Chapter 11 to look towards an asset sale, or even a liquidation, rather than a reorganization of the business,” Sarah Foss, head of legal at Debtwire, told FOX Business.
Foss said Nikola is following a similar path in bankruptcy, like startup Fisker, which used its June 2024 bankruptcy to effectuate a sale of its assets, and Lordstown Motor, which sold the majority of its assets to a vehicle of the company’s former CEO, and Proterra, which sold its business lines in its August 2023 bankruptcy.