Seattle's federal health office closes as Trump administration guts HHS funding

In his plan to streamline the expansive Health and Human Services administration, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced last week he’d be firing 10,000 employees and chopping half of the regional offices in the country.

But he didn’t say which.

The Seattle regional office is apparently among them, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) said Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) spokesperson confirmed the closure, and said around 200 staff in Seattle are being fired, as well as 90 in Spokane. HHS spokespeople, as well as regional leadership, did not respond to KUOW’s requests for comment. Neither did U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, Spokane's Republican Congressman.

The Seattle Times reported Tuesday the downtown offices sat empty.

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Esther Lucero, president of the Seattle Indian Health Board, said some of the federal staff who told her they’re getting fired were liaisons who championed the needs of tribal and Native health programs to D.C. Some of them had attended vaccine clinics at powwows, Lucero said.

"It's just really important, while we move towards efficiency, that it isn't at the expense of the folks doing the work, the direct service work," Lucero said. "There's a real risk in consolidating to a level that we lose that community connection."

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DelBene's staff pointed out in a press release that the closures -- on the West Coast and in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions -- disproportionately impact majority-Democratic states.

"These offices provide vital health and human services functions to state, territory, and tribal partners across a total of 22 states (15 with Democratic governors)," DelBene's staff wrote in a fact sheet. "Haphazardly closing these offices will not only harm communities in the notably Blue regions the offices serve, but it will also overtax the [Regional Offices] in Red states, where caseloads will skyrocket; local expertise will be lacking; and health, safety, and anti-fraud inspections will require excessive travel."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.