In a statement on X, Kennedy called the firings a "difficult moment," while blaming the size of his department's budget. "This overhaul is about realigning HHS with its core mission to stop the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again," he said.

A senior scientist at NIH tells WIRED the impact of Tuesday's layoffs was sheer "chaos," with the firings of the lead investigators projected to widely impair and impede diverse ongoing research ranging from mechanisms within cells in the brain to human patients with neurologic conditions.