Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides at the Department of Health and Human Services, per CNN News. Neither Flick nor Anderson immediately responded to requests for comment.
Heather Flick Melanson, Kennedy’s chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, deputy chief of staff of policy, were dismissed after only a few months on the job. No reason was given for the firings, though a statement provided by an HHS spokesperson said that Kennedy “has every right to make personnel decisions. Secretary Kennedy has made a leadership change within the Immediate Office of the Secretary. Effective immediately, Matt Buckham will serve as Acting Chief of Staff. He [Buckham] brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role. 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.”
Flick Melanson had served at HHS during President Donald Trump’s first term, first as its acting general counsel and then as acting secretary for administration and a senior adviser to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Anderson joined HHS after stints on Capitol Hill as a GOP staffer, including as health policy adviser to Republicans on the Senate’s main health committee. More recently, she headed up health care issues at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute think tank. Both Anderson and Flick Melanson had led Kennedy’s immediate office alongside two other aides, senior counselor Stefanie Spear and executive secretary Cortney McCormick. Spear is a longtime aide to Kennedy.
The new firings come after others have left the department in recent weeks, including Scott Rowell, who had served as the deputy chief of staff for operations. Rowell previously worked as a top-ranking HHS official during the first Trump administration.
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