180 government employees just received an email demanding they come back to work after Trump officials fired them two weeks ago

In a surprising turn of events, around 180 employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who were fired two weeks ago by the Trump administration have been asked to return to work.

The employees, many of whom were recent hires on probationary contracts, received an email on March 4 instructing them to resume their duties the following day.

The email, which began with the subject line “Read this e-mail immediately,” stated that their termination notices from February 15 had been canceled and apologized for the disruption caused.

The CDC, the nation’s leading public health agency, had initially planned to cut around 1,300 of its 13,000 employees as part of broader efforts to reduce federal workforce numbers.

This number was later revised to 700-750, and now it appears that only about 550 employees will ultimately be let go. Among those affected were outbreak responders and participants in fellowship programs that train graduates for careers in public health.

The Trump administration, under the direction of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been aggressively cutting federal jobs across various agencies, including those responsible for food safety, nuclear weapons, and national parks.

The DOGE has also targeted the Inter-American Foundation, an independent foreign assistance agency, leaving it with just one staff member. Leaked memos suggest that the Veterans Affairs agency and the Internal Revenue Service could face significant cuts next, with tens of thousands of jobs potentially at risk.

The reinstatement of CDC employees comes amid concerns about the impact of these cuts on public health and national security. US Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) welcomed the reversal but emphasized that the country’s public health remains at risk until all fired CDC employees are restored.

CDC spokesman Andrew Nixon noted that the agency currently has more full-time employees than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the recent cuts.

The Trump administration’s cost-cutting measures, led by Musk’s DOGE, have sparked controversy and raised questions about the long-term effects on federal agencies and the services they provide.

The CDC’s role in protecting Americans from public health threats makes these cuts particularly concerning, especially in the wake of the pandemic. As the administration continues its efforts to reduce the federal workforce, the fate of thousands of employees and the agencies they serve remains uncertain.