Baldwin Statement on Reports Secretary Kennedy Allegedly Rehired CDC Staff, Including Lead Prevention Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS), released the following statement after reports that the Trump Administration reinstated some of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff that were previously fired as part of the administration’s mass layoffs across HHS:
“If Secretary Kennedy thinks he deserves kudos for putting out part of the fire he started, he’s looking at the wrong person. This administration recklessly fired the very experts who should have been on the ground helping communities address serious public health threats – like in Milwaukee, which is grappling with a lead poisoning crisis. I have heard the harrowing stories from Milwaukee families who have children suffering from lead contamination – and it's simply unconscionable that this administration fired the experts who could have helped them. I have been demanding that Secretary Kennedy rehire these experts for weeks, not only because Wisconsinites need and deserve it, but also because it’s the law and this administration is not above it. This administration has shown they play fast and loose with the truth, and I will not rest until I see boots on the ground in Milwaukee – and other communities just like it – to deal with this crisis.”
In Milwaukee, lead exposure has shuttered six Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and displaced 1,800 children. However, after applying for support from the CDC to help mitigate the lead found in school classrooms, MPS was notified that their request for support was denied because the Trump administration fired the agency’s entire Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Surveillance Branch.
Senator Baldwin and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) demanded that the Trump Administration reinstate the fired CDC lead poisoning experts and approve Milwaukee’s plea for federal assistance to help keep children safe. Senator Baldwin also pressed Kennedy on the firings at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing. Senator Baldwin visited Milwaukee Public Schools’ Frances Starms Discovery Learning Center to meet with parents whose children’s health was at risk and whose schools were closed this year because of lead hazards. Yesterday, Senators Baldwin and Jack Reed (D-RI) demanded written answers from Secretary Kennedy in response to detailed questions on the Trump Administration’s firing of childhood lead experts at CDC.
Local officials continue to confirm that the requested aid is not being provided, and Secretary Kennedy has provided no documentation that the fired employees have been rehired, as Senator Baldwin demanded.