Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sharply rebutted a New York Times article on Wednesday that portrayed him as disengaged from departmental duties and overly reliant on ideological allies. In a detailed response posted on X, Kennedy highlighted his transparent schedule, measurable reforms, and an unprecedented list of accomplishments aimed at restoring integrity and effectiveness to America’s public health institutions under the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.
“The fact that you have minimal access to decision makers leaves you covering trivia and relying on your own capacity for invention,” Kennedy wrote in response to reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg’s Sunday article. He pointed to his public calendar as evidence of active leadership and emphasized sweeping changes at HHS headquarters, where he inherited a largely empty building. “About 90% of the employees were not coming to work,” Kennedy noted. “I changed that.” He contrasted this with the absentee record of his predecessor, Xavier Becerra, whose limited presence during four years in office drew no comparable scrutiny from the Times.
Kennedy directly challenged the article’s reliance on anonymous sources, many of whom he said were either fired or resigned to avoid termination. “You also deceptively quote HHS employees without identifying whether they were among those I fired, thereby depriving your readers of the opportunity to make an independent judgment about their credibility,” he stated. Such tactics, he argued, reflect a pattern of media efforts to undermine his reforms rather than engage with their substance.
The article’s focus on Kennedy’s handling of emerging health threats, including the Ebola exposure of six Americans linked to outbreaks in Africa, drew particular criticism. Stolberg highlighted Kennedy’s appointment of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya — a respected health economist now leading both the CDC and NIH — to coordinate mitigation efforts. Critics cited Bhattacharya’s lack of traditional public health administration experience, yet Kennedy’s team has prioritized evidence-based approaches over entrenched bureaucracies. Similarly, operations at Kenya-based quarantine facilities under John Knox, a former Los Angeles firefighter and vaccine safety advocate, have raised eyebrows among legacy officials, underscoring the administration’s willingness to bring fresh perspectives to crisis response.
Kennedy also addressed perceptions of his engagement with the CDC, noting a visit following last year’s active shooter incident at its headquarters. While he shared images from a scheduled trip engaging with Native tribes in Alaska on Indian Health Service matters, he promptly acknowledged the tragedy. “I run the Indian Health Services (IHS), and I’ve had unprecedented success in transforming IHS from a backwater to a top priority,” Kennedy wrote. He has visited Indian country and clinics more than any prior HHS secretary and elevated Native leaders to senior roles.
Far from “checked out,” Kennedy’s tenure reflects a deliberate shift toward accountability, transparency, and results-driven public health — priorities long neglected by prior administrations, particularly in their COVID-19 response, which he continues to criticize. As legacy media outlets recycle anonymous grievances, Kennedy’s record demonstrates concrete progress in revitalizing federal health agencies for the benefit of all Americans.
