RFK Jr. Faces Criticism Over Disengaged HHS Leadership
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has demonstrated little interest in managing the full scope of the Department of Health and Human Services, instead focusing narrowly on food and vaccine policies while critical health agencies operate without permanent leadership, according to a New York Times investigation published Sunday.
The approach has left the nation vulnerable during an ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa that has already exposed six Americans, raising concerns among public health experts and former HHS secretaries about the department’s ability to protect Americans in a crisis.
A Leadership Vacuum
When asked about the Ebola outbreak nearly three weeks ago, Kennedy’s only public response was a brief “Yeah, we’re working on it,” according to ABC News. He has made no further public comments since and has received few briefings from CDC scientists, though he speaks daily to the acting director.
The Ebola crisis is unfolding against a backdrop of significant leadership gaps across HHS. There is no surgeon general. About half of the 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health are run by acting directors. The acting chief of NIAID was recently fired, as was the nation’s top drug regulator at the FDA. The CDC has been run on an acting basis since Kennedy fired its director last August.
“You would never accept a major corporation operating this way,” said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “If the CEO lacked deep expertise in the company’s business and the leaders of its most important divisions were missing, investors would revolt. Here, the stakes are much higher.”
A Narrow Focus
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and prominent anti-vaccine activist confirmed as HHS Secretary in February 2025, has concentrated his energy on a handful of priority issues. His most notable achievement came in January 2026, when he and the USDA unveiled a new “inverted” food pyramid that prioritizes protein and healthy fats while reducing the role of grains — a policy win he frequently highlights, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
But colleagues say his narrow focus comes at the expense of the department’s vast responsibilities. HHS affects the health of 340 million Americans and provides healthcare to 40% of the population through Medicare and Medicaid, with 13 operating divisions covering everything from child welfare to pandemic preparedness.
Kennedy typically arrives at HHS headquarters around 10 a.m. and leaves by 4 p.m., spending much of his day in closed-door meetings. He attends weekly division chief meetings only about once per month and often appears disengaged, scrolling on his phone. Once, when arriving 15 minutes late, he offered a self-deprecating apology: “Thank you for putting up with my dysfunctional self.”
Delegation and Staff Turmoil
Kennedy has delegated broad authority to longtime adviser Stefanie Spear, who runs meetings, accompanies him on official trips, and maintains a private spreadsheet of his policy projects — over 50 items — to which his policy team has no access. All requests for the secretary’s decisions go through Spear, and colleagues say her tight control has slowed department operations.
The secretary is on his third top spokesperson; the first two quit in frustration. He has run through two chiefs of staff — firing the first and pushing aside the second.
When a gunman opened fire on CDC headquarters in August 2025, Kennedy was fishing in Alaska. A statement was held up for hours while Spear sought White House approval.
A Rebuke from State Department
Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a tacit rebuke of Kennedy’s management last week, announcing that the State Department would “reengage” on Gavi, an international vaccine alliance whose U.S. funding Kennedy cut in June 2025. As reported by The New Republic, Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the State Department was taking back control of the relationship, effectively acknowledging HHS mishandling of the vaccine alliance.
Gavi has provided roughly $29 billion to support vaccine development and immunization in developing countries. The U.S. contributed about 13% of its budget until Kennedy’s decision to withhold funding.
Differing Perspectives
Kennedy’s allies defend his approach. Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a close Kennedy ally, said in a statement: “You do not come to Washington to challenge powerful interests, disrupt decades of business as usual, and demand accountability to make friends. You do it to deliver results.”
A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, said the agency’s response to the Ebola outbreak proved that “under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS continues to safeguard the health and wellness of the American people.”
But former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who served under President Obama, offered a contrasting view: “My goal was to really be informed by the scientists, to make sure that NIH was at the table, that FDA was at the table, that our global health people were at the table. I was really schooled by the people who had been there before and who knew what the hell they were doing.”
What to Watch
As the Ebola outbreak in Congo reaches 515 confirmed cases including 91 deaths, questions remain about whether Kennedy’s management style will change or whether the department will continue to operate with acting leaders. The White House and Kennedy initiated a shake-up in February, elevating Christopher Klomp to serve as chief counselor and smooth operations, but critics argue that fundamental issues of leadership and engagement remain unresolved.
Kennedy’s food and nutrition policy wins may continue to generate headlines, but the broader question — whether HHS can fulfill its mission of protecting American health without permanent leadership at its key agencies — remains unanswered.