Trump admin begs more fired workers to come back — hours after being shown door
An email asks that fired Food and Drug Administration (FDA) workers return to work after they were let go or put on paid leave.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the request came mere hours after workers were shut out of government offices.
But just hours after employees were shown the door, Barclay Butler, the agency’s new chief operating officer, asked top FDA officials to identify employees to keep working for the next two months, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.
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“If you experience challenges with employees not wanting to work, we encourage you to select another employee that can support you in the transition efforts,” FDA official Melanie Keller said in an email Wednesday that the Post obtained.
Thousands of government employees have been laid off, in addition to those at the FDA. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said there is a goal of a 20,000-employee reduction across all health agencies.
Barclay Butler, the deputy commissioner for operations and the chief operating officer, asked "each Center/Office Director" to identify anyone who should be brought back at least for 60 days during the transition period, the report said.
“As a point of emphasis, I am only asking for the employees who are necessary for support during the 60-day transition period,” Barclay clarified.
Those he specified could be staff handling "travel and logistics for foreign inspections; timekeeping; information technology; management of user fees that industries pay the FDA; laboratory personnel; financial management; and several other areas."
The FDA isn't the only department where this has happened. The Centers for Disease Control sought to rehire workers and the Department of Energy asked nuclear staff to come back as well, reports revealed. NPR reported that close to 6,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) workers were reinstated after an independent federal board ordered it.