Leadership at some agencies that are part of HHS have begun to receive notices stating they have been put on administrative leave, though they have been offered reassignment to locations far from Washington.

In addition, rank-and-file employees have begun to receive layoff notices, according to The Washington Post.

HHS had announced the layoffs on March 27 as part of a restructuring effort. The department said the staff reductions would save taxpayers $1.8B and cut its workforce to 62,000 from 82,000. 

Among the high-profile employees placed on administrative leave, according to the newspaper, is Jeanne Marrazzo, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She succeeded Anthony Fauci, a familiar face who played a central role in the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brian King, director of the U.S. FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, has also been placed on administrative leave.

Those offered reassignments have been given a choice of locations, such as Alaska; Billings, Mont.; the Navajo Nation; and Oklahoma. They are to submit their preference by April 2 at 5p, the Post reported.

Some FDA employees who were laid off didn't know they were until they arrived Tuesday morning at the campus in Silver Spring, Md., and their ID badges were deactivated, preventing them from entering buildings.

"The FDA as we've known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed," former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, who served under the Obama and Biden administrations, wrote in a LinkedIn post. "I believe that history will see this a huge mistake. I will be glad if I'm proven wrong, but even then there is no good reason to treat people this way."

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