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The nation's most distinguished health agencies fired thousands of probationary workers, starting Feb. 13 and extending into the holiday weekend, in what is becoming informally known among federal workers as the Valentine’s Day Massacre. The firings began at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, before extending throughout virtually all of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) divisions by the end of the weekend, reported numerous media outlets. Impacted workers took to social media to confirm the news. (Tong, 2/17)

“Read this email immediately.” That was the subject line of emails that landed in the inboxes of thousands of workers at federal health agencies across the government beginning Friday and continuing throughout the weekend. The news was not good: Recipients, workers who were still on probation at the Department of Health and Human Services and the agencies it oversees, were informed that they were being terminated for poor performance, even though many said they had previously received only strong performance evaluations. Though their employment was effectively terminated immediately, they were told they would receive 30 days of administrative leave. (Branswell, 2/17)

The firings have excised the next generation of leaders at the C.D.C., the N.I.H., the Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies that the department oversees. “It seems like a very destructive strategy to fire the new talent at an agency, and the talent that’s being promoted,” said Dr. David Fleming, the chairman of an advisory committee to the C.D.C. director. He added, “A lot of energy and time has been spent in recruiting those folks, and that’s now tossed out the window.” (Gay Stolberg, 2/18)

Jim Jones, the head of the food division at the US Food and Drug Administration who oversaw the agency’s banning of the food dye Red No. 3 earlier this year, stepped down on Monday, citing widespread cuts across the agency that he said will make it hard to implement the types of changes the Trump administration is seeking, according to a document viewed by Bloomberg News. (Edney and Shanker, 2/18)

The Trump administration has taken a sledgehammer to the federal government as it tries to cut costs and workforce. But administration officials on Friday defended the cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services as far more surgical. HHS, in coordination with the Department of Government Efficiency, on Friday began the process of dismissing 3,600 probationary employees, according to administration officials, who were granted anonymity to share details that have not yet been made public. (Messerly and Cancryn, 2/15)

A federal judge on Monday questioned the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency but was skeptical of a request to block DOGE from accessing sensitive data and firing employees at half a dozen federal agencies. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing on a request from 14 states for a temporary restraining order seeking to curtail Musk’s power in President Donald Trump’s quest to downsize the federal government. Chutkan said she would rule within 24 hours. (2/17)