Wyden, Sanders: Federal layoffs threaten organ transplant system modernization

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are expressing concern to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that recent layoffs at U.S. health agencies are threatening the modernization of the organ transplant system.

The pair of lawmakers asked Kennedy in a Wednesday letter to disclose which staff at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), tasked with implementing improvements to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), were impacted by layoffs.

“We share the concern raised in a letter to you by the National Kidney Foundation that indiscriminate lay-offs of probationary employees initiated by HHS on Friday, February 14, 2025 has already resulted in the termination of key personnel hired to implement OPTN modernization initiatives,” Wyden and Sanders wrote to Kennedy.

With the rounds of terminations of workers from federal agencies, some who were brought on by the HRSA to help apply the 2023 “Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act,” were also reportedly affected.

“To allow those efforts to pause or cease altogether would calcify the issues within the organ transplant system which spurred this effort in the first place, and would amount to a failure to implement federal law,” the senators said.

Sanders, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member, and Wyden, the Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member, asked Kennedy how much of the staff charged with implementing improvements in the organ and transplantation system were let go or placed on leave since President Trump’s administration kicked off on Jan. 20.

The duo also asked the new HHS head how he intends to provide “adequate staffing and relevant experience and expertise to ensure continued improvements to the nation’s organ donation and transplantation system in keeping with the intent of the Securing the U.S. OPTN Act in 2023?”

Groups, including the National Kidney Foundation, have called for the workers to be brought back, saying the layoffs “stand in direct opposition to the goals of transplant system reform to improve efficiency, transparency, and the ability of government to respond to the needs of people who rely on the system.”

Wyden and Sanders asked the HHS leader to respond by March 5.

The Hill has reached out to HHS for comment.

Topics

The Organ Transplant List Is Being Ignored

Organ transplant waiting lists are designed to fairly distribute organs to the sickest patients in order of priority. Or so we thought. A New York Times investigation shows that the list leaves ...
The New York Times - 18h
Greenpeace says a pipeline company’s lawsuit threatens the organization’s future

A Texas pipeline company’s lawsuit accusing Greenpeace of defamation, disruptions and attacks during protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline goes to trial in North Dakota on Monday.
NBC News - 3d
Trump and DOGE Escalate Layoffs of Federal Workers

Federal officials circulated a memo asking agency leaders to plan even more job reductions after thousands of federal workers were fired in recent weeks.
The New York Times - 18h
Federal agencies preparing for large-scale layoffs

Government agencies have been ordered to prepare for extensive layoffs as part of the ongoing initiative by President Trump and Elon Musk to slash the federal workforce.
NBC News - 9h
Federal judge extends decision blocking DOGE from Treasury payment system

A federal judge on Friday extended an earlier decision barring employees with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing a sensitive federal payment system at the Treasury ...
The Hill - 6d
Trump threatens to withhold federal funds from Maine over transgender athletes

President Trump is threatening to withhold federal funds from Maine if it continues allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports in defiance of a recent executive order. ...
The Hill - 6d
‘A pulse check’: Musk and Trump defend email threatening firing of federal workers

Elon Musk called an email instructing government employees to describe recent accomplishments a “pulse check,” and alleged that paychecks for federal workers may have been going to dead or ...
NBC News - 1d
Fired Army veteran speaks out about federal layoffs

Army Veteran Nelson Feliz, Sr., who spent more than a decade working for the Department of Veterans Affairs, is speaking out about his experience as one of the many federal workers who was let go ...
NBC News - Feb. 21
Federal cybersecurity layoffs could leave U.S. vulnerable to hackers

Employees with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are awaiting more possible layoffs. Some security experts fear this could make the U.S. vulnerable to bad actors. CBS News ...
CBS News - 6d