HHS staff to brief House committee on mass firings as other changes are made to department

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff members are expected to brief members of the House Energy and Commerce committee in the near future, on the massive layoffs that took place in the department this week.

HHS laid off approximately 10,000 employees as part of its latest restructuring on Tuesday, which comes as the Trump administration works to reorganize the whole government workforce. The department first announced the layoffs last week.

House Democrats have pushed GOP leadership to hold a hearing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his plan for the department's future, but so far only a bipartisan staff level briefing has been approved, according to The Hill.

“A briefing is the bare minimum that Secretary Kennedy can offer, but instead, he would reportedly send staff rather than do it himself," Health subcommittee ranking member Diana DeGette said in a statement. "While a staff briefing is better than nothing, it has not been scheduled, and there is no assurance that it will be bipartisan."

Kennedy has already been invited to testify in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on April 10, but has not yet publicly confirmed his attendance. 

The hearing and briefing come as Kennedy also moves to close down several offices within the HHS that handle Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's FOIA office, per Politico.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.