The executive order could come as soon as next week, if the Trump administration goes ahead with plans, according to people familiar with the matter.

Managers across the health agencies were tasked with categorizing their probationary workers to determine those who were not mission critical, according to two new media reports citing internal sources.

Under the order, which could come as soon as next week, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies would have to cut a certain percentage of employees, the WSJ said. (Reporting by Jasper Ward and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Caitlin Webber)

The next section of the federal workforce to face mass firings by the Trump administration could be health workers. White House aides are preparing an executive order to fire thousands of employees in the Department of Health and Human Services,

Thousands of federal workers are set to be purged by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a report. The forthcoming executive order intends to fire "thousands" of employees,