STAT+: HHS employees to be fired as White House enacts mass terminations it blames on shutdown

WASHINGTON — Federal health employees on Friday were being fired as the White House followed through on its threat to terminate federal employees en masse as the second week of the government shutdown drags to a close. 

Between 1,100 and 1,200 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services were to be let go as part of the “reductions in force,” according to a legal filing by the administration, more than at any other department other than the Treasury Department.

A spokesperson for HHS confirmed the firings had hit the department, but did not specify which agencies were affected. During a Thursday cabinet meeting, President Trump said the firings would impact “Democrat” programs, as Republicans put the blame for the shutdown on their Democratic colleagues. 

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