The goal is clearly to inflict as much pain as possible on vulnerable communities, and its working.
But its unclear whos making decisions on how these policies should be implemented.
You dont even know whos making these decisions.
President Donald Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC© Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Theres a lot of anonymity, the CDC employee told Gizmodo.
Every day theres a new surprise.
We dont know what exactly the endpoint is going to be.
References to the word gender need to be replaced by sex, as the OPM memo explicitly orders.
Most people, however, seem on edge.
I feel like already theres a lot of self-censorship, said the CDC employee.
I feel like this will have effects beyond any specific memo.
People are really walking on eggshells about what they say.
Theres a pause on all travel, and nobody can give presentations.
Perhaps most disturbing, CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report isnt being published anymore.
No one ever said we anticipate this to take two weeks or three weeks.
Its an open-ended pause, the CDC worker said.
This is unprecedented in the sense that theyre very heavy-handed.
They came in with a specific plan to control the messaging.
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