The Senate Minority Leader from New York called on the administration to rehire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cruise ship inspectors and Port Health Station staff laid off during cuts overseen by the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting initiative established during President Donald Trump’s first year in office by billionaire Elon Musk.
In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Schumer demanded details about the federal response to the outbreak and current CDC staffing levels. He also urged the White House to restore funding for infectious disease research, vaccine programs and viral threat surveillance, and to rejoin the World Health Organization.
