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Nevilledog

(53,984 posts)
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:06 PM Apr 3

RFK Jr. says 20% of health agency layoffs could be mistakes

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-hhs-job-cuts-doge-mistakes/

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested Thursday that around 20% of the job cuts by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency will be wrong and need to be corrected.

Around 10,000 employees were laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, as part of a restructuring architected by Kennedy and Elon Musk's DOGE task force. But Kennedy acknowledged they didn't get everything right the first time.

"Personnel that should not have been cut, were cut. We're reinstating them. And that was always the plan. Part of the DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning, is we're going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we'll make mistakes," Kennedy said, speaking to reporters at a stop in Virginia.

Kennedy said that the elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's entire Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch was among the mistakes.

It is unclear which other programs Kennedy may be planning to restore. The department did not immediately provide a response for a request for comment.

*snip*
39 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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RFK Jr. says 20% of health agency layoffs could be mistakes (Original Post) Nevilledog Apr 3 OP
He has no idea what he is doing. Irish_Dem Apr 3 #1
Ya think? democratsruletheday Apr 3 #4
Nobody in this idiotic admin knows what they are doing... spanone Apr 3 #8
20% layoff a mistake? But 100% cabinet picks are huge mistakes. nt Jit423 Apr 3 #22
None of them do. yardwork Apr 4 #29
Imagine a ** doctor ** making 20 percent mistakes. :eyes: . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Apr 3 #2
+1 dalton99a Apr 3 #3
What a ridiculous way of doing business. n/t Ms. Toad Apr 3 #5
Could BobK jr get mistakenly sent to El Salvador ? Hekate Apr 3 #6
I sure as hell hope so. sheshe2 Apr 3 #17
Oh please do Rebl2 Apr 3 #20
You beat me to it wendyb-NC Apr 4 #26
They are all just F'ing idiots. Biophilic Apr 3 #7
It is like some sort of f_cked up exboyfil Apr 3 #19
Ya think? alarimer Apr 3 #9
Fucking idiot. Solly Mack Apr 3 #10
Bob said, Ooopsie! sheshe2 Apr 3 #11
"Part of the DOGE" - what? newdeal2 Apr 3 #12
So..they'll get it right next time? Where's the accountability for these "mistakes" that wrecked agencies Deuxcents Apr 3 #13
It was always the plan to make mistakes? Justice Apr 3 #14
Nobody Worth a Shit will Take a Government Job as a Result of Republicans treatment of the Public Sector over 2 Decades Stallion Apr 3 #15
I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear what his family is saying about him--especially his physician niece hlthe2b Apr 3 #16
Mistakes, he says? I believe the proper response is, "No shit, Sherlock." 3catwoman3 Apr 3 #18
His father is rolling in his grave vapor2 Apr 3 #21
Because the objective was to DO IT FAST. GoodRaisin Apr 4 #23
"We've removed your fucking soul America!" maxrandb Apr 4 #24
Measure twice, cut once does not apply to the Trump administration. PA Democrat Apr 4 #25
"Oopsie, our bad. Oh, you had to miss a rent payment? I bet your landlord hated that! Ha-ha!" tanyev Apr 4 #27
I think once in a while his brain worm does a mind meld & makes better decisions than he does. nt ImNotGod Apr 4 #28
Stupid fuck. spanone Apr 4 #30
fu psycho rfk jr Meowmee Apr 4 #31
Gee, Ya think? mwmisses4289 Apr 4 #32
So if my arithmetic is right... returnee Apr 4 #33
Running the government like a business! Prairie Gates Apr 4 #34
A poorly run business exboyfil Apr 4 #36
Ready, fire, aim GusBob Apr 4 #35
Says the Predator in Chief. Passages Apr 4 #37
"That is part of the plan". !?!?! karynnj Apr 4 #38
Mistake definitely, but maybe not the way he see it. Eugene Apr 4 #39

Biophilic

(5,503 posts)
7. They are all just F'ing idiots.
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:14 PM
Apr 3

Half the time I can’t make myself believe this is real. The other half of the time I can’t believe how really awful it is.

exboyfil

(18,191 posts)
19. It is like some sort of f_cked up
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 09:19 PM
Apr 3

Monty Python skit. I got terminated last year after 21.years. I couldn't imagine having a yoyo termination. Think of the mental health impact. There are probably already suicides.

alarimer

(17,102 posts)
9. Ya think?
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:15 PM
Apr 3

This is why this is a stupid fucking way to do this. There is a proper way to do RIFs and reducing budgets, but, that takes time and knowing what can be trimmed.

sheshe2

(91,205 posts)
11. Bob said, Ooopsie!
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:24 PM
Apr 3

Your F**KING mistakes and not getting everything right are ENDANGERING PEOPLE'S LIVES you asshole!

" But Kennedy acknowledged they didn't get everything right the first time."


" 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we'll make mistakes,"


JHC in a handbasket, this country is in the hands of idiots.

newdeal2

(2,266 posts)
12. "Part of the DOGE" - what?
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:27 PM
Apr 3

Not only does he not know English, or science, but he doesn’t understand how percentages work.

Deuxcents

(21,695 posts)
13. So..they'll get it right next time? Where's the accountability for these "mistakes" that wrecked agencies
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:28 PM
Apr 3

And people’s livelihoods? Is there any accountability or are we just supposed to take it?

Stallion

(6,632 posts)
15. Nobody Worth a Shit will Take a Government Job as a Result of Republicans treatment of the Public Sector over 2 Decades
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:36 PM
Apr 3

hlthe2b

(109,056 posts)
16. I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear what his family is saying about him--especially his physician niece
Thu Apr 3, 2025, 08:36 PM
Apr 3

Kerry Kennedy Meltzer. I know generally how they all feel, but to hear their words... it might be cathartic, albeit depressing.

I could say the same for CDC, NIH, FDA professionals, but I already have a really GOOD idea what they are saying. I could probably closely paraphrase without even hearing them.

maxrandb

(16,478 posts)
24. "We've removed your fucking soul America!"
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 07:29 AM
Apr 4

"Oh, sorry! Here, we'll try to put 20% of it back" -MAGAt Dipshits

PA Democrat

(13,398 posts)
25. Measure twice, cut once does not apply to the Trump administration.
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 07:44 AM
Apr 4

Everything they do is hasty, sloppy with no analysis. Sadly, the full impact of the disastrous results will not be felt immediately.

By the time that the pressure to fix their malfeasance forces them to try to remediate the damage, it may be too late.

tanyev

(46,023 posts)
27. "Oopsie, our bad. Oh, you had to miss a rent payment? I bet your landlord hated that! Ha-ha!"
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 07:55 AM
Apr 4

ImNotGod

(610 posts)
28. I think once in a while his brain worm does a mind meld & makes better decisions than he does. nt
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 08:06 AM
Apr 4

returnee

(496 posts)
33. So if my arithmetic is right...
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 08:18 AM
Apr 4

…he’s saying a 60% reduction is just fine. These are assholes of the highest order.

exboyfil

(18,191 posts)
36. A poorly run business
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 09:50 AM
Apr 4

I hated losing my job last year, but they provided 1 month for every two years of service up to 12 months (I was 21 years so near the maximum). Also WARN (which I don't know if the government workers qualify) was another two months including benefits. I only collected unemployment for two weeks before starting my new job (at 70% of my old salary).

karynnj

(60,197 posts)
38. "That is part of the plan". !?!?!
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 10:50 AM
Apr 4

That explanation may be worse than the action. He is saying that telling thousands of people that their job is over was better than a slower, more thoughtful process.

I guess HE never needed a job himself ... and unlike his father and uncles has no empathy for the fact that others do.

As a "plan", he ignores not just the pain, but that many of these people are extremely hard to replace if they don't come back. Trump, Musk and RFK Jr may have started a brain drain.

Eugene

(64,332 posts)
39. Mistake definitely, but maybe not the way he see it.
Fri Apr 4, 2025, 12:14 PM
Apr 4

They regret the optics, not the destruction, which is the real blunder.

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