Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Radical Restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services Takes Place

The arrival of the new Director of National Institutes of Health (NIH), Jay Bhattacharya, on April 1 marks a new chapter for the biomedical research agency. His top three goals, according to an interview, were to make reproducibility and replication the heart and soul of NIH, to focus the portfolio of grants on the diseases afflicting the most Americans, and to see NIH be on the cutting edge of transformative research, knowing failures will occur. 

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on March 27 efforts to conduct a dramatic restructuring in accordance with the executive order, “Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative,” targeted at a reduction in force (RIF) of approximately 1,200 additional NIH employees, streamlining and consolidation of functions at Health and Human Services from 28 divisions to 15 new divisions under the umbrella of the Administration for a Healthy America, and centralizing core functions such as Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement, External Affairs, and Policy and reducing the number of regional offices from 10 to 5.

Members of Congress immediately released statements critical of the RIFs focused on NIH saying that billions of dollars of NIH funding for new treatments and cures are systematically being cut and senior leadership at the Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities are being pushed out. Chair Bill Cassidy and Vice Chair Bernie Sanders of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions sent a letter requesting Kennedy’s appearance before the committee. Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce committee also requested Chair Brett Guthrie to call a hearing with the HHS Secretary focused on these changes. 

Demonstrating their resolve to make America healthier, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke. L. Rollins also released a press release on their first Make America Healthy Again event in Alexandria, VA. The joint visit focused on federally funded nutrition programs for children and furthering their vision of a healthier America. They have invited governors to join them in efforts to remove unhealthy items from school nutrition programs.