Michael Sainato

Key programs from child-support services to HIV treatment also gutted, leaving global populations vulnerable

Mass terminations and billions of dollars’ worth of cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have gutted key programs – from child support services to HIV treatment abroad – and created a “real danger” that disease outbreaks will be missed, according to former workers.

Workers at the HHS, now led by Robert F Kennedy Jr, and in public health warned in interviews that chaotic, flawed and sweeping reductions would have broad, negative effects across the US and beyond.

Exclusive: Insiders sound alarm over ‘catastrophic’ impact of widespread departures and cuts under Trump

A “catastrophic” exodus of thousands of employees from the US Department of Labor threatens “all of the core aspects of working life”, insiders have warned, amid fears that the Trump administration will further slash the agency’s operations.

The federal agency has already lost about 20% of its workforce, according to employees, as nearly 2,700 staff took retirement, early retirement, deferred resignation buyouts or “fork in the road” departures earlier this year.

Workforce saw an additional 177,000 jobs added even as Trump has pressed ahead with sweeping tariffs on imports

Hiring in the US slowed in April, according to official figures, with the workforce adding 177,000 jobs as Donald Trump’s aggressive trade strategy clouded the economic outlook.

As the White House pressed ahead with sweeping tariffs on overseas imports, claiming this would revitalize the US economy, employers across the country continued to add jobs at a steady pace.

Executive order cites national security to strip bargaining rights from more than 1 million federal workers

The Trump administration is seeking to strip collective bargaining rights from large swaths of federal employees in a test case union leaders argue is part of a broader attack on US labor unions that could land before the US Supreme Court.

A Trump win would deliver a severe blow to labor unions in the US. Some 29.9% of all federal workers were represented by labor unions in 2024 compared to 11.1% for all US workers.