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The Trump administration is reinstating several hundred employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after they were inadvertently terminated on Friday. This action was part of a broader government initiative targeting Democrats amid an ongoing government shutdown.

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The Big Story

Trump admin haphazardly fires and recalls CDC staffers

The Trump administration is bringing back hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees who were mistakenly fired on Friday as part of a government-wide purge intended to punish Democrats during a government shutdown.

Among the people who were initially fired and then brought back were leaders in the Global Health Center, including all six of the CDC’s regional offices around the world; the team that produces the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; and some of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), known as “disease detectives.”

The EIS are typically the first responders in an outbreak.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2883, which represents workers at the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters, said HHS fired more than 1,300 CDC federal employees during the government shutdown, citing retaliatory reasons for their removal.

The Trump administration said in court filings Friday that about 4,200 federal employees across seven different agencies would begin receiving reduction in force notices (RIFs). An estimated 1,100 to 1,200 employees from the Department of Health and Human Services are expected to be affected.

But within 24 hours of receipt of the original RIF notices, the union said around 700 employees received emails rescinding their terminations. The administration claimed these employees were “mistakenly” placed on notice because of a coding error.

The notices were emailed shortly after 9 p.m. on a holiday weekend. The notices were sent even as the human resources division had been furloughed as part of the shutdown.

“There’s still great staff there. What I would just say is there’s no strong, stable, scientific leadership for them at the top,” said Deb Houry, formerly CDC’s chief medical officer before she resigned in protest in August.

Houry said the agency’s entire Washington office will not be rehired. Nor will employees of the office of the director of the center for injury prevention, or those at the division of violence prevention policy.

The latest round of firings came about a month after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a congressional hearing called for “new blood” at CDC.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi and — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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A MESSAGE FROM COALITION TO STRENGTHEN AMERICA’S HEALTHCARE

Care that doesn’t clock out – on rounds or on call.

Tell Congress: Protect Access to 24/7 Care —because when the doors close, it is too late. Learn more.

Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

Vance says ACA tax credits fuel fraud

Vice President Vance said Sunday that subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fuel waste and fraud in the insurance industry, as Republicans refuse Democratic demands to extend the tax credits ahead of open enrollment next month. “The tax credits go to some people deservedly. And we think the tax credits actually go to a lot of waste and fraud within the insurance industry. So we want to make sure that the tax …

Full Story

Kelly says GOP commitment to hold vote on subsidies is not enough to end shutdown

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said on Sunday that a hypothetical commitment from Republicans to hold a vote by the end of the year on extending health care subsidies would not be sufficient to secure Democratic support for the GOP proposal to reopen the government.

Full Story

Graham says shutdown won’t ‘change how I approach health care’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the government shutdown will not change his opposition to extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, which Democrats have made their central demand in the ongoing funding standoff. In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Graham criticized Democrats’ approach and said he wouldn’t support extending the subsidies unless there was first “great reform.” He also said he would not engage in …

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In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

USDA warns that Hello Fresh subscription meals may contain listeria-tainted spinach

Federal health officials late Monday warned people not to eat certain Hello Fresh subscription meals containing spinach that may be contaminated with listeria. The U.S. Agriculture Department issued a public health alert for the meals, which were produced by FreshRealm, the San Clemente, California-based company linked to an expanding …

Full Story

Around the Nation

Local and state headlines on health care:

International group sues WV health, education officials over state’s new artificial food dye ban (West Virginia Watch)
Will lure of federal dollars prompt changes to aid rural health care in SC? (The State)
Washington’s paid leave program heads toward a fiscal cliff (Washington State Standard)

A MESSAGE FROM COALITION TO STRENGTHEN AMERICA’S HEALTHCARE

Care that doesn’t clock out – on rounds or on call.

More than 300 hospitals are now at risk of closure, threatening access to critical care. Learn more.

What We’re Reading

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

U.S. measles cases continue to climb, with outbreaks across the country (NPR)
FDA declares Novo Nordisk plant, key to drug manufacturing for some biotechs, out of compliance (Stat)
Roche, Lilly’s blood test for Alzheimer’s diagnosis gets US approval (Reuters)