But an internal email from National Center for Environmental Health Director Ari Bernstein, obtained by Politico’s E&E News, shows that the division had “been slated to be eliminated in its entirety.”
The center’s former director, Patrick Breysse, predicted the layoffs would have long-term repercussions.
“There was just the wholesale elimination of the division that eliminates, essentially, the program that protects children from lead, from air pollution and asthma, from emergencies like fires,” Breysse told The Hill.
“People are going to suffer from this for decades,” he added.
The DEHSP firings come amid a wave of cuts at the CDC and its overarching Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Newsmax reached out to HHS for comment but did not receive an immediate response.