Trump Administration Demands Additional Cuts at C.D.C.

Alongside extensive reductions to the staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Trump administration has asked the agency to cut $2.9 billion of its spending on contracts, according to three federal officials with knowledge of the matter.The administration’s cost-cutting program, called the Department of Government Efficiency, asked the public health agency to sever roughly 35 percent of its spending on contracts about two weeks ago.The C.D.C.

was told to comply by April 18, according to the officials.The cuts promise to further hamstring an agency already reeling from the loss of 2,400 employees, nearly one-fifth of its work force.On Tuesday, the administration fired C.D.C.

scientists focused on environmental health and asthma, injuries, violence prevention, lead poisoning, smoking and climate change.Officials at the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Abruptly cutting 35 percent of contracts would be tough for any organization or business, said Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, who advised the Biden administration during Covid.“Sure, any manager can find small savings and improvements, but these kinds of demands are of the size and speed that break down organizations,” he said.“This is not the way to do good for the public or for the public’s health.”The C.D.C.’s largest contract, about $7 billion per year, goes to the Vaccines for Children Program, which purchases vaccines for parents who may not be able to afford them.

That program is mandated by law and will not be affected by the cuts, according to one senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.But other C.D.C.contracts include spending on computers and other technology, security guards, cleaning services and facilities management.

The agency also hires people to build and maintain data systems and for specific r...