Robert Kennedy Jr., testifying in January at a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing. Credit: Senate Finance
The health care industry has spent the past six months adjusting to major policy and personnel changes at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration. Now, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court gave the greenlight to plans to downsize the agency’s staff, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides.
Chief of Staff Heather Flick Melanson and Hannah Anderson, deputy chief of staff for policy, were terminated this week, several news outlets reported. Although no reason was given for the firings, one source told CNN that Kenney had lost confidence in them as part of his team.
“Secretary Kennedy has made a leadership change within the immediate office of the secretary," an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Effective immediately, Matt Buckham will serve as acting chief of staff. Mr. Buckham currently serves as the Kennedy’s White House liaison at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he oversees the recruitment and onboarding of political appointees across the agency. He brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role.”
Flick served at the agency during President Trump’s first term, first as acting general counsel and then as acting secretary for administration and a senior advisor to former Secretary Alex Azar. Anderson joined HHS after working in Congress as health policy advisor to Republicans on the Senate’s primary health committee. More recently, she was in charge of health care issues at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute thinktank.
Sources told CNN that Kennedy has not yet decided on permanent replacements for Flick and Anderson. In the meantime, the HHS leadership team will be shorthanded as Kennedy and the administration pursue an ambitious health care agenda that includes an overhaul of vaccine policies.
"Secretary Kennedy thanks the outgoing leadership for their service and looks forward to working closely with Mr. Buckham as the agency continues advancing its mission to Make America Healthy Again," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, HHS has fired a number of additional employees following a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this month that upheld a proposed staff reduction. “You are hereby notified that you are officially separated from HHS at the close of business on July 14, 2025,” according to a memo to dismissed employees that was obtained by CNN. “Thank you for your service to the American people.”
This spring, the agency announced plans to terminate 10,000 employees across several agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Although some workers since have gotten their jobs back, the number losing employment on Monday is in the thousands, an agency spokesperson said.
“HHS previously announced our plans to transform this agency to Make America Healthy Again, and we intend to do just that,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an email to CNN after the Supreme Court ruling.
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