As President Donald Trump directs the cuts of tens of thousands of employees of the Federal Government, among the dismissed of the United States Health Agencies are workers of a National Health Institutes Department focused on Dementia investigation, including their incoming leader, three people familiar with the endings to ABC -ABC. News.
The layoffs in the center of Alzheimer be threatened by the layoffs of only a handful of employees, warning that progress could be jeopardized when answering key questions about dementia.
The majority of card workers were the termination of the main researcher Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen, who was announced internally as the next interim director of the organization and was expected to bring significant advances to the field of research.
“It’s simply amazing,” said a higher level card employee to ABC News from Van Keuren-Jensen’s dismissal.
ABC News contacted Van Keuren-Jensen, who declined to comment.
In this archive photo of September 12, 2020, the main historical building (Building 1) of the National Health Institutes (NIH) is shown in the NIH campus land in Bethesda, MD.
Getty images, file
The layoffs on the card were First reported For the new Republic.
Neurologists say that the reduction of personnel on the card could be a blow to the scientific search for Alzheimer’s new treatments. NIH scientists in Card work with external scientists to convert early scientific discoveries into treatments and medications.
The center also had an important bipartisan support. He was named Senator Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri who has been a champion for the financing of dementia research.
Almost 7 million people in the United States live with Alzheimer’s disease, according to Alzheimer’s association. There is no cure, and current treatments only help relieve symptoms or reduce the progression of the disease.
A farewell card worker told ABC News that a termination letter, received on February 15 from a NIH human resources officer, cited the worker’s performance, although the worker told ABC News that his Managers had assured them that their performance was not a problem. .
Medical researchers from several universities and national health institutes join at the headquarters of health and human services to protest the federal budget cuts, on February 19, 2025 in Washington.
John McDonnell/AP
Another card employee ruled out the idea that layoffs were related to performance.
“[One colleague] Recently he published an article by First Author in a high -impact magazine and were finished by low performance, and I said: Are you teaching me? “They told ABC News.
The outgoing director, Andrew Singleton, told colleagues in an email that the dismissals “would have a deep impact on the work we do to understand and treat the disease,” according to an employee of a card.
Singleton did not respond to a request for ABC News comments.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to comments requests.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, said about the layoffs between federal agencies: “There should be no secret about the fact that this administration is committed to reducing waste, fraud and abuse. The president did Campaign in that process campaigning in that promise.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently confirmed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., advocated great shakes in the department, specifically designing plans in the campaign to cut hundreds of the NIH, which according to him should take away his focus on infectious diseases towards diseases Chronicles
“We need to act quickly, and we want to have those people in their place on January 20 so that on January 21, 600 people will enter NIH offices and 600 people will leave,” Kennedy said in November, speaking at the annual event of Genius Network in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated for the president of the United States, Donald Trump, for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee, on January 29, 2025.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
The shots in the Alzheimer’s Research Center are produced in the midst of a large number of other changes in government health agencies, including around 700 terminations in the centers for disease control and prevention and at least 90 more in The food and medicines administration of people who worked in nutrition, food security and regulation of the children’s formula, according to several agencies officials. There have also been cuts to other parts of the HHS, including the administration of strategic preparation and response.
Almost all employees who handle vaccines.gov, the website that helps people find vaccines in their area, were also allowed to go, said an official who supervises the site.
A senior Trump administration official said Fox News Digital The “outputs” of the HHS were estimated at 6,000 people, while other The points of sale have estimated that 3,600 were cut. When ABC News asked about the number, HHS did not confirm the details.
In addition, a media campaign that encourages people to obtain their flu vaccines were eliminated from the CDC website.
