NEW YORK (AP) — Federal officials are reinstating hundreds of U.S. health workers who were laid off last year from a small health agency that aims to protect workers.
In April, President Donald Trump's administration gutted the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, where scientists, engineers and others conduct research and recommend ways to prevent work-related injury, illness, disability and death.
Government officials laid off close to 900 of NIOSH's 1,000 employees. The layoffs were part of the Republican president’s remaking of the federal workforce led by then-adviser Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, but they drew harsh rebukes from firefighters, coal miners, medical equipment manufacturers and a range of others.
Some employees were brought back last year amid legal challenges and political pressure, including those who staffed a health monitoring program for miners in West Virginia. But now all the terminations have been rescinded, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents workers at NIOSH and parts of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The administration’s attempt to lay off nearly every NIOSH worker was shameful and illegal, considering that much of NIOSH’s work is required by law," AFGE national president Everett Kelley said in a statement.
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman on Wednesday confirmed that laid-off NIOSH employees were being reinstated.
“The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services — whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases," spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement.
Nixon did not respond to questions about how many workers were being reinstated, why the workers were laid off or why HHS decided to rescind the layoffs. It’s unclear how many of the laid-off NIOSH workers have taken other jobs or decided to retire and won’t be returning, officials said.
It's likely that many have moved on and won't be returning, said Michael Barasch, an attorney who represents 9/11 survivors and their families. He has helped clients enroll in the NIOSH World Trade Center Health Program that provides medical monitoring and treatment.
He described the NIOSH layoffs and their impact as “horrifying.” More agency workers may be coming back now, but the layoffs last year delayed diagnosis and treatment and it's likely that “people died because of these cuts,” he said.
At the end of last year, the CDC had about 10,800 full-time workers, or about 20% fewer than the number with the agency before the April layoffs began, according to the CDC.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - People rally on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in support of some 185 researchers and other employees of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va., who received reduction-in-force notices as part of a larger push by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to dismiss 10,000 federal employees. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal officer shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while trying to make an arrest Wednesday, officials said.
Smoke filled the street near the site of the shooting as federal officers and protesters squared off. A group of officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas and grenades into a small crowd while protesters threw snowballs and chanted, “Our streets.”
Such scenes have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7. Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who bare demanding that officers pack up and leave.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on the social media platform X that federal law enforcement officers stopped a person from Venezuela who was in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.
After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.
The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.
The city of Minneapolis said on X that the man shot was in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“We understand there is anger,” it said. "We ask the public to remain calm.”
The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where Good was killed.
Earlier Wednesday, a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a televised speech Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Federal immigration officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A woman confronts a federal immigration officer at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People react after a firework was set off near the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Federal immigration officers shoot pepper balls as tear gas is deployed at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
