As the partial government shutdown extends into its third week, the Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs across federal agencies, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) facing some of the most severe reductions in its workforce. The move comes even as President Donald Trump assured that military personnel would still receive their paychecks on schedule, despite congressional negotiations remaining at a standstill.
According to a court filing from the administration, more than 4,000 federal employees have received layoff notices since the shutdown began. Trump has publicly stated that the cuts would focus on individuals viewed as aligned with Democratic causes.
The CDC has emerged as one of the hardest-hit agencies. Late Friday evening, the department carried out large-scale staff reductions that disrupted key units responsible for disease surveillance, outbreak modeling, and data analysis, according to reports. Four officials familiar with the situation confirmed the cuts.
The layoffs were communicated by email after 9 p.m., and the total number of affected employees is still being assessed. Among those dismissed were members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), the elite program that trains the CDC’s frontline disease detectives. A second official reported that at least 30 coordinators and 40 second-year EIS officers were terminated.
CDC Director Debra Houry confirmed that the entire team responsible for the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a century-old publication tracking national health trends, was also dismissed, wrote CNN.
In a separate development, Trump announced on Saturday that the administration had “identified funds” to ensure service members receive pay on October 15. Posting on Truth Social, he wrote, “We have identified funds for this purpose and will direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th.” He reiterated, “Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”
No explanation was provided regarding the source of the funds, and neither the White House nor the Pentagon responded to requests for comment. The statement came amid concerns that service members would miss their mid-month paychecks after Republican leaders opposed a standalone bill guaranteeing military pay during the shutdown.
Earlier this week, Trump told sailors at a Virginia naval base, “We will get our service members every last penny. Don’t worry about it.”
Despite reassurances to the military, there is little progress toward reopening the government, with Chuck Schumer claiming that the military not receiving pay was good for the Democratic Party. The Senate has postponed further action until Tuesday, while the House remains adjourned. With budget negotiations frozen, the shutdown appears likely to continue past the weekend.
