RFK Jr. injects more chaos into the nation’s public health system
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly fired two of his top aides, rattling his department’s leadership team amid his broader attack on the nation’s public health apparatus.
The two ousted officials—chief of staff Heather Flick Melanson and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson—were dismissed after only a few months on the job. CNN, which first reported the firings, said Kennedy had lost confidence in both, though it’s unclear what triggered the move.
In a statement to CNN, an HHS spokesperson confirmed the departures and said White House liaison Matt Buckham would serve as acting chief of staff effective immediately.
“He brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role,” the spokesperson said. “Secretary Kennedy thanks the outgoing leadership for their service and looks forward to working closely with Mr. Buckham as the Department continues advancing its mission to Make America Healthy Again.”
No permanent replacements have been named.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, shown in 2013.
HHS oversees the work of major federal health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health—institutions now squarely in the crosshairs of Kennedy’s largely anti-science agenda. The leadership churn hasn’t stopped with Kennedy’s own staff, either. According to The Washington Post, NIH’s chief operating officer, Eric Schnabel, was recently fired as well.
The various shakeups come mere months into Kennedy’s tenure and leave him scrambling to fill key leadership roles amid mounting scrutiny of his radical plans to reshape health policy, gut vaccine programs, and overhaul the structure of the department itself.
Flick Melanson was one of Kennedy’s more seasoned Washington players, having previously served as acting general counsel and senior adviser to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar during Trump’s first term. Anderson, a former GOP Hill staffer and policy adviser to Senate Republicans, had recently worked on health care at the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank.
Politico reported that Flick Melanson had been viewed by some as a steadying hand—someone who understood the functions of the department, given concerns about how aggressively Kennedy might pursue his anti-science agenda.
And yet, backed by President Donald Trump, Kennedy has charged ahead with his “Make America Healthy Again” crusade. Not only did he fire all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and replace them with loyalists, but he also published a widely criticized, error-filled report on childhood illnesses. And he’s moved to axe 20,000 HHS staffers and slash dozens of agency divisions—all while facing a wave of legal challenges.
His war on synthetic food dyes faces industry changes. And under his watch, HHS has taken a series of anti-vaccine actions that experts say have eroded public confidence in immunizations.
More chaos at HHS under Kennedy. No surprise there.
