FDA Looking to Take Back Mistakes in Mass Firings

On Tuesday, as part of mass firings, the powers that be at FDA lined people up to fire them. Security guards delivered the news. Clumsily. Now, just two days later, it seems they want a do over. The Washington Post reports the agency is trying to bring back a big chunk of people they fired:

“As FDA worked to try to recall fired workers to return on a temporary basis, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters that some fired personnel and canceled studies would be reinstated, such as a program monitoring lead in children.”

“Part of the Plan”

Kennedy says this was the plan all along. They planned to make mistakes, to turn around and rehire one in five of the people they fired. All in the name of “government efficiency.”

Internal communications at the agency said to move on from people who are reluctant to come back. The apparent presumption is that they can find desperate individuals will put up with any abuse. We wonder what the effect will be on the quality and engagement of the talent pool.

Pharma Delays and Uncertainty

Outside of government, all this chaos is buffeting the pharmaceutical industry. Global pharma stocks are tumbling this morning on hints of tariffs “you really haven’t seen before.” But perhaps more troubling is the threat that competent and timely review for new drugs and vaccines might not be possible for the foreseeable future.

Already the agency has taken a political decision to delay a decision on a vaccine that was due this week. Axios reports that the mass firings may cause FDA to miss review deadlines and create costly delays for the industry. Scott Gottlieb served as FDA Commissioner in the first Trump administration. He said this week:

“The cumulative barrage on that drug-discovery enterprise threatens to swiftly bring back those frustrating delays for American consumers, particularly affecting rare diseases and areas of significant unmet medical need.”

These are mistakes that will not be easily erased.

Click here for free access to the Washington Post story on trying to undo firings. For more on the effects of these blunders, click here, here, and here.

Yet Another Mistake, photograph by Alessandro Patelli, licensed under CC BY 4.0

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April 4, 2025