Earlier this month, Townhall covered how President Donald Trump’s administration halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who worked on the country’s nuclear weapons programs.
This came after over 300 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) were abruptly dismissed. This was part of a purge carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new agency under Trump that is guided by Tesla founder Elon Musk.
Now, another government agency is working to rehire staffers who were terminated by DOGE.
Going forward, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees overseeing medical devices, food ingredients and other key areas received calls and emails notifying them that their recent terminations had been “rescinded effective immediately.”
Four FDA staffers impacted by the decisions spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they planned to continue working for the agency and weren’t authorized to discuss its internal procedures (via AP):
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The FDA reinstatements followed pushback by lobbyists for the medical device industry, which pays the agency hundreds of millions of dollars annually to hire extra scientists to review products. The industry’s leading trade group said Monday “a sizable number” of device reviewers appear to be returning to FDA.
“This would be welcome news, and I appreciate the administration for acting quickly,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said in an emailed statement. “We all share the same goal — an efficient, effective FDA review process that helps advance the medical technologies American patients depend on.”
Staffers within the agency said that entire teams of five or more medical device reviewers had been reinstated.
Last week, Townhall covered how Jim Jones, head of the food division at the FDA, resigned.
“It has been increasingly clear that with the Trump administration’s disdain for the very people necessary to implement your agenda... it would have been fruitless for me to continue in this role,” Jones said in a letter to FDA's acting commissioner. The letter was obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
