'Mass disaster' described as insiders spill on chaos at vital government agency
Current and former employees at the Centers for Disease Control paint a damning portrait of chaos, dysfunction, and unfulfilled commitments under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to interviews with The New York Times.
Since his February 2025 confirmation, Kennedy has waged a campaign against the CDC itself, labeling it "the most corrupt agency at H.H.S. and maybe the government" while endorsing the mass terminations orchestrated by Elon Musk's DOGE initiative. At least 2,400 CDC employees — representing 18 percent of the agency's workforce — have been terminated or forced into retirement.
The toll on remaining staff has been severe. Former Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry captured the emotional impact bluntly: "I'm an E.R. doc, so I handle stress pretty well. But this was like being in a mass disaster nonstop for eight months."
The damage extends beyond domestic operations. Multiple staffers highlighted the consequences of Kennedy and the Trump administration's withdrawal from the World Health Organization, a move that has fundamentally compromised America's ability to coordinate global health responses.
Daniel Jernigan, former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, explained the strategic failure. "There was no understanding of the connectivities between the U.S. government and W.H.O. There was magical thinking that you could build a bilateral set of relationships that would take care of what W.H.O. is doing. For flu, we had 57 different bilateral cooperative agreements with countries. But to make things happen, we went through W.H.O., because they have the ability to bring people together. Without W.H.O. involved, there's an uncertainty among some nations about whether or not to work with the United States at all."
A core problem undermining the CDC's effectiveness, staffers reported, is Kennedy's apparent disdain for subject matter experts.
Demetre C. Daskalakis, former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, described a pattern of false promises followed by systematic exclusion: "Kennedy's deputies would come and talk to C.D.C. in this very kumbaya way: 'We really love you all. We think you're so amazing. Talk to us, and we'll make sure that we can make things happen.' And every time they did that, I would say: 'We've never briefed the secretary. We would love the opportunity to talk to him about vaccine-preventable diseases, about measles, about flu, about Covid.' And they would say: 'Well, thank you so much. Just reach out.' And then when we reached out, we would just get crickets."
Karen Hacker, former director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, emphasized how leadership constraints have made basic operations impossible. "A big part of being a senior leader is going into the field, doing site visits, talking with Congress," she said. "And to have all of that curtailed leaves you where you literally can't do your job."
Trump appointee Jay Bhattacharya, serving as acting CDC director, has drawn criticism for underperformance even as standards have collapsed. One staffer offered this assessment. "Our bar has gotten so low that we are praising him for doing things that should be a bare minimum," they said. "He has come to campus and talked with staff. He believes in the measles vaccine. And that's all great. But that's also part of what any leader should be doing."