The Trump administration announced today that it would lay off about 10,000 employees at the Health and Human Services Department and reshape it under the priorities of the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Together with previous buyouts and resignations, the agency — which provides oversight of medical care, food and drugs — will have seen its staff shrink by nearly a quarter in the early months of the administration.

The major reduction will cut especially deep at two agencies within the department that have been in Kennedy’s sights: the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both are expected to lose roughly 20 percent of their staff members from the latest cuts.

The restructuring is intended to bring communications and other functions directly under Kennedy. Stunned employees struggled to absorb the news, and some expressed concern that the cuts could threaten public health and safety.

The move continued President Trump’s effort to downsize the federal bureaucracy sharply. Another cutback that my colleagues reported today: A crackdown on FEMA, which has been targeted by Elon Musk, effectively froze billions of dollars in disaster grants.

Other cuts: The Justice Department is considering merging its drug and gun agencies in a broader downsize.