Read, Watch or Listen

As layoff notices swept the CDC during the government shutdown, Aryn Melton Backus received a third termination email, then a rapid reversal, capturing the chaos inside the agency. Unions call the latest reductions illegal, saying repeated cuts have eliminated a quarter of the CDC and gutted offices from ethics oversight and the IRB to the library and Washington office, with key surveys and prevention programs disrupted. About 1,300 layoffs were processed; roughly 700 were later reinstated while 600 remain out. Staff also report harassment, doxing, and trauma after an August shooting at CDC headquarters.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.