“Within the FDA’s Office of Digital Transformation, the chief information officer and nearly the entire executive leadership team were eliminated in the reductions, the FDA sources said. Most of those officials were placed on administrative leave until June 2, when they’ll be officially separated from the department.”
“A leaked draft of HHS’s 2026 budget proposal last week outlined more specific aspirations for that reorganization, including a new departmentwide Office of the Chief Technology Officer that would house the HHS CIO … Under the draft, $9 million would be provided to consolidate all of the functions and existing staff from the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, which was created last year, to the new CTO office to “continue carrying out mission critical functions.”
“Other tech offices within HHS agencies and at the department-level have also faced cuts under the Trump administration, sources said. For example, HHS’s chief information security officer was reassigned during the RIF, and its CIO, Jennifer Wendel, is expected to leave soon. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s chief information officer is on administrative leave, the sources said.
According to the sources, many officials reassigned within the department were placed in the Indian Health Service, forcing them to relocate to one of the division’s offices across the U.S or leave.”
Source: FDA tech officials complied with DOGE’s requests for data. The staff reductions still came, FEDSCOOP, Madison Alder, April 21, 2025
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