Federal CDC worker in Maine laid off by Trump administration
Feb. 21—Hannah Reidel received the email at 5:30 p.m. last Saturday — she was one of thousands being fired by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Trump administration.
Reidel, 24, moved from Seattle to Maine in 2023 to take a job with the U.S. CDC, embedded in the Portland Public Health Division.
"I wasn't surprised, but I was frustrated," said Reidel, who said she was given one month of paid leave. "There's a lot of chaos and confusion with my program and at the CDC."
Reidel worked as a public health adviser for the CDC's Public Health Associates program, which brings in federal workers to assist local health departments. She helped a team of two working on Portland's emergency preparedness.
She said they do a lot of behind-the-scenes work to prepare communities for emergencies like natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks. They are the staffers who make sure needed items are available — like vaccines and medicine — and educate the public on how to be prepared.
"This work is so important," Reidel said. "We do a lot of groundwork, but if it doesn't get done, it's only going to be noticeable when it's too late."
Reidel said beyond her job and that of her colleagues in the Public Health Associates program, the work that the CDC does for public health is essential, and she's distressed to see it cut back.
"We are now dismantling more and more of our public health system," Reidel said.
While thousands of federal health workers have been fired this month, it's unclear how many worked in Maine.
Reidel and Scott Gagnon, the former New England regional director for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, have come forward publicly to say they've lost their jobs. Both have said they are unaware whether other federal health workers have been fired in Maine. Reidel said she believes she was the only person hired with the Public Health Associates program in the state.
Others, including Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, have also said that they have so far been kept in the dark by the Trump administration on exactly what has been cut.
In addition to Reidel and Gagnon, eight Acadia National Park workers were let go last week, representing 10% of the park's year-round workforce. About 10,000 federal workers so far have been fired, according to national news sources, but the scale of the cutbacks is likely to expand.
Reidel, who lives in Portland, said she's not sure what her next steps will be. She, like many others, was issued a form email that said she was getting fired for performance-related reasons, even though she received an "outstanding" job evaluation from her boss.
She could appeal her termination, or join class action lawsuits.
Bridget Rauscher, Portland's public health director, said Reidel has done an "incredible job."
"She's really been able to expand our reach and capacity for emergency preparedness," Rauscher said. "She's really contributed in such a positive way."
Reidel has helped to educate hundreds of students and volunteers on emergency preparedness. Reidel said the public health job was her first long-term job — she taught English in Spain on a one-year contract — after graduating from the University of Seattle. Despite the distance from where she grew up, Reidel said she wants to stay in Maine.
"I love Maine, and I love Portland," Reidel said. "I'm planning to stay here for the foreseeable future."
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