In a stunning weekend reversal, the Trump administration has reinstated hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees who were mistakenly told they were laid off during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Officials say the erroneous layoff notices were the result of a “system glitch” that triggered incorrect reduction-in-force alerts to staff across multiple divisions. According to an administration spokesperson, the employees “were never officially separated from the agency and have been notified that they are not subject to the reduction in force.”

The move comes after widespread confusion and anger within the CDC and the broader public health community, which had already been grappling with uncertainty over the shutdown’s impact on essential health services.

The administration announced large-scale federal workforce reductions earlier this month as the shutdown entered its second week. On Friday, between 1,100 and 1,200 Health and Human Services (HHS) employees—including hundreds at the CDC—received termination notices.

By Saturday, officials acknowledged that many of those notices were sent in error, sparking a partial rollback. “This was due to a technical error in the automated HR system,” one federal official said. “Those affected employees were never actually terminated.”

The layoffs, first reported by The New York Times, had been part of a broader cost-cutting plan designed to conserve funds while Congress remains deadlocked on a spending bill. But the sudden reversal has raised new questions about the administration’s management of federal agencies during the shutdown.

The CDC—responsible for disease surveillance, vaccination programs, and emergency response—has faced mounting operational strain during the shutdown. Among the employees who received erroneous layoff notifications were scientists and analysts in critical divisions, including:

Sources inside the agency said some staff members were locked out of internal systems or told to halt ongoing research projects before being notified of the “mistake.”

“This has been deeply destabilizing,” said one CDC scientist who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Public health doesn’t pause because of politics.”

Vice President JD Vance addressed the situation during appearances on CBS’s Face the Nation and Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. He acknowledged “some chaos” in the handling of layoffs but defended the overall strategy.

Vance blamed Democrats for prolonging the shutdown by refusing to back a short-term funding bill, adding that “the longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts will have to be.”

Democrats, however, have sharply criticized the layoffs as reckless and politically motivated, arguing that targeting public health agencies undermines national safety. Lawmakers have also questioned the legality of executing large-scale federal layoffs during a shutdown.

Multiple unions representing federal employees are preparing to challenge the reduction-in-force orders in court, arguing that the administration violated federal employment protections.

“These layoffs were not only poorly executed but likely unlawful,” said a spokesperson for the American Federation of Government Employees. “No one should be losing their job because of a political standoff in Washington.”

Public health experts warn that even temporary disruptions at the CDC can have far-reaching consequences. With many ongoing programs already paused due to the shutdown, staffing confusion could further delay research, outbreak tracking, and vaccine distribution.

The government shutdown, shows no signs of ending. Both the House and Senate remain gridlocked over funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expiring healthcare subsidies.

Republicans are pressing for a clean stopgap spending bill, while Democrats are demanding protections for ACA subsidies and Medicaid expansion funding. Neither side has been willing to compromise, keeping tens of thousands of federal workers furloughed or working without pay.

The CDC, along with the Treasury Department and HHS, represents more than half of the total layoffs announced during the shutdown, according to court filings reviewed by NBC News.

As lawsuits and negotiations unfold, federal agencies are working to stabilize operations and restore confidence among workers. The reversed CDC layoffs may ease tensions temporarily, but deeper cuts could still come if Congress fails to reach a deal soon.

Public health leaders are urging lawmakers to act swiftly, warning that extended disruption could compromise the country’s ability to respond to infectious disease threats and emergencies.

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