Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has initiated a significant restructuring of the department, including layoffs affecting approximately 10,000 employees, with another 10,000 taking early retirement or voluntary separation. According to the Daily Caller, Christine Grady, a top bioethicist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the wife of former top NIH official Anthony Fauci, was reportedly among the health bureaucrats who received a layoff notice on Tuesday.

Grady was reportedly given the boot as part of the post-pandemic restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to the New York Times and STAT News. Grady’s supposed conflict-of-interest has come up in circumstances involving ethical questions regarding Fauci.

According to the Daily Caller, “an NIH official who described Grady as well respected acknowledged that her marriage to Fauci impacted the ability of the institutes to tackle ethical questions that risked reflecting poorly on the former White House medical advisor.”

Regarding the layoffs overall, the HHS Secretary and his top aides have said “the layoffs are aimed at consolidating administrative functions and overhauling a failed status quo in Americans’ health.”

The restructuring involves significant workforce reductions, with approximately 10,000 positions eliminated across various agencies, including the NIH, FDA, and CDC. Grady’s dismissal follows her controversial tenure, during which she faced criticism for perceived conflicts of interest related to her husband’s role during the COVID-19 pandemic and her ethical stances on vaccine mandates.

HHS is consolidating its 28 divisions into 15 under a new entity called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), centralizing functions such as public health and addiction services. While Kennedy claims the changes will improve efficiency and save $1.8 billion annually, critics warn they may undermine specialized public health efforts and create chaos within key agencies.

According to Politico, this overhaul reduces HHS staffing by 25%, from 82,000 to 62,000 employees. Kennedy has reportedly framed the changes as necessary to streamline operations, reduce bureaucracy, and refocus on addressing chronic diseases and improving public health outcomes.