CDC's "disease detectives" halved as part of DOGE cuts at health agencies

Half of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention's Epidemic Intelligence Service officers — a group known as the CDC's "disease detectives" — were among the cuts made Friday by the Trump administration, multiple health officials tell CBS News.

The cuts are among the thousands of probationary workers being let go this week across the federal government as part of efforts to shrink the federal workforce overseen by President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, task force headed by billionaire Elon Musk.

The CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service or EIS officers are hired in annual classes through a competitive process.