In recent events surrounding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mass layoffs initiated by the Trump administration during a government shutdown have caused significant upheaval. Hundreds of CDC staff members, including disease detectives and scientists, received layoff notices, sparking confusion and despair within the agency. However, many of these firings were reportedly reversed over the weekend, with more than half of the affected employees reinstated. Critics argue that despite the reinstatements, the turmoil and dysfunction caused by this pattern of mass firings and haphazard rehirings have severely impacted the agency’s mission and raised concerns over public health preparedness.