In a move that would’ve made Reagan grin and Fauci tremble, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just pulled the plug on one of the deepest parts of the Washington swamp. On Thursday morning, RFK Jr. announced that HHS will slash 10,000 federal jobs, the first phase in a massive overhaul aimed at cutting bureaucratic waste, streamlining operations, and—brace yourself—actually serving the American people.

The agency’s full-time workforce is set to drop from a bloated 82,000 to a leaner 62,000. For context, that’s like firing the entire population of a mid-sized town, all living comfortably off your tax dollars. And no, these aren’t the doctors and scientists you picture in lab coats. These are administrators, mid-level pencil pushers, and alphabet soup department heads who’ve built entire careers on holding meetings about meetings.

“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl,” Kennedy said. “We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic.” Translation: fewer Diversity Equity and Inclusion conferences, more actual health work.

At the heart of the shakeup is the creation of the new Administration for a Healthy America—a fresh department combining five others, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, SAMHSA, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. All the redundant, siloed operations that tripped over each other during COVID will now (finally) be forced to work together.

Kennedy isn’t just trimming fat—he’s taking a chainsaw to the entire overgrown forest. Twenty-eight divisions will be consolidated down to 15. Ten regional offices? Now just five. FDA’s bloated operations and admin staff? Slashed by 3,500. And for those clutching pearls over drug safety—don’t worry. Reviewers and inspectors are staying put. It’s the bureaucrats who’ve been soaking up salaries while productivity flatlined that are getting the boot.

The NIH—home of infamous COVID flip-flops—will lose around 1,200 positions by consolidating back-office functions. Even the CDC is getting downsized by 2,400 staffers, although about 1,000 from the also-bloated ASPR will be moved in. Finally, someone is forcing these alphabet agencies to do what the rest of America does every day: work efficiently and stay in their lane.

Here’s the kicker: this didn’t come from a career bureaucrat or D.C. lifer. It came from the man many Democrats once loved to brand as a “conspiracy theorist.” Turns out, questioning the government’s pandemic response, vaccine mandates, and bloated health bureaucracy wasn’t so crazy after all. And now, Kennedy is proving he’s not just talking—he’s acting.

And speaking of pandemics, it’s worth remembering how this mess ballooned in the first place. Under Biden, the FDA grew by 13%, the CDC by 26%, and NIH by 34%. Why? To manage COVID? Or to justify their bloated budgets and ever-expanding control over Americans’ lives? Spoiler: It wasn’t the first one.

HHS became a massive web of competing agencies and political fiefdoms that tripped over each other during a global crisis. It’s no wonder the response was a chaotic disaster of contradictory guidance, lockdowns, and botched messaging. This restructuring is long overdue and exactly what Trump promised—a government that works for the people, not the other way around.

Kennedy’s move shows that even in a town where bloat is baked into the budget, it’s possible to reverse course. Americans are tired of bloated bureaucracies that grow like mold every time there’s a crisis. They want efficiency, transparency, and accountability—three words that haven’t existed inside HHS since the Eisenhower administration.

This isn’t just a staffing change. It’s a cultural shift. It’s what happens when you combine Trump’s America First fire with RFK Jr.’s anti-establishment grit. It’s also a warning shot to every other bloated agency in D.C.—get lean, get efficient, or get lost.

The swamp’s days are numbered. And this time, it’s not just a promise—it’s policy.