Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appear during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
"We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. "This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer."
"Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants," Kennedy added. "This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again."
Thursday's announcement is intended to streamline the functions of HHS. The department said the 28 divisions of HHS contain "many redundant units," and the restructuring plan will consolidate them into 15 new divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA. It also will "centralize core functions" such as Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement, External Affairs, and Policy, the department said. Five of the 10 regional offices will shut down.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington on Monday, March 10, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The restructuring is also meant to strengthen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HHS said the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), responsible for national disaster and public health emergency response, will transfer to the CDC, "reinforcing its core mission to protect Americans from health threats."
Notably, Trump earlier this week named Susan Monarez, the current acting director of the CDC, to hold that position permanently. Her nomination replaces Trump's original pick for the role, Dr. David Weldon.
HHS said Thursday it will create a new Assistant Secretary for Enforcement to oversee the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB), Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA), and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to "combat waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health programs." The department will also merge the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to create the Office of Strategy "to enhance research that informs the Secretary’s policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs."
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The department said "critical programs that support older adults and people with disabilities will be integrated into other HHS agencies, including the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), ASPE, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)." HHS said the reorganization will not impact Medicare and Medicaid services.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
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