The FDA restores a ponderous medical, food and legal device

Food and Drug Administration has restored dozens of specialized employees involved in food safety, a review of medical devices and other areas dismissed last week, according to several employees who were called back.

The total number of dismissed employees was not immediately clear. But the person familiar with the conversations said that almost all of the about 180 employees of the medical department who were dismissed would regain their work. A dozen or so employees in several teams stated that they received a phone or e -mail with restoring their employment; Some reported that they were also restored to a dozen other people.

The FDA and her mother agency, the Department of Health and Social Welfare, did not answer requests for comment.

Employees were dismissed as part of the efforts of the Trump administration, led by Elon Musk, in order to significantly reduce the federal government and reduce costs. But the salaries of many dismissed FDA employees have been financed from fees that companies pay FDA, not taxpayers’ money.

Many restored jobs were financed from this kind of fees, but some such employees were still unemployed. For example, those whose work was financed from excise duty from cigarettes said that they were not called to work over the weekend. These employees reviewed the applications of novel tobacco products and studied the safety of emerging tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and devices that heat tobacco, but do not burn it.

On Friday, Novel York Times presented accounts of dismissed employees who reviewed the safety of surgical robots, cardiovascular devices and insulin care systems. Everyone had a job from Monday morning.

Advismed, a trade association for producers of medical devices, pushed the administration in a letter and at meetings to ensure that employees who check these products will regain their work. Industry funds helped in the review of equipment of hired experts, including doctors with the experience of using devices. Industry funds are periodically approved in contracts adopted by the Congress, which also include strict decisions of approval decisions.

They restored employees who spoke anonymous because they were afraid of retaliation, they said about a dozen or so employees from the main adviser to the Agency for recovery, including lawyers who supported the policy of medicine. About a dozen, who supervise cardiovascular devices and another 12 who authorize artificial intelligence programs, have also been restored. Others were called to work in assessing the safety of food-chemical, priority of the novel Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In interviews, employees who returned on Monday reported a sense of whipping and frustration, but also with relief to return to work.

Dr. Robert Califf, FDA Commissioner during Biden administration, called the staff “anti-efficiency” because many of the latest employees were recruited to fill in the knowledge gaps in the agency, including in the field of artificial intelligence and safety of chemical food. He also said that the cuts were made regardless of the good of the workers.

“In this way, treating other people is vile and signs of the immaturity of people who do this,” he said on Monday in a text message.

Dismissed employees uniformly said that their results “were not sufficient to justify further employment by the agency.” However, many dismissed employees – restored, and not – said that their reviews from the agency were perfect.

Alice Callahan reporting brought.