The top communications official under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly resigned last week, just two weeks after being sworn in to be the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs.
The resignation of Thomas Corry, a Trump administration appointee, was first reported by Politico. Corry did not respond to multiple requests from CBS News for comment.
Corry’s departure came just days after Kennedy faced criticism for how he handled a question about the growing measles outbreak in Texas at a White House Cabinet meeting, calling it “not unusual” and misstating the number of deaths reported in the state.
A former HHS official and a person familiar with Corry’s thinking said that he had voiced disappointment with how Kennedy handled the question. It was a missed opportunity, making headlines for appearing indifferent to the deadly outbreak.
But Corry’s frustrations extended beyond that, as his office triaged a deluge of inquiries on agency actions ranging from canceled vaccines meetings to stalled research funding.
Unlike previous officials in the role, who usually closely work with the secretary, Corry had been cut off from Kennedy, one former HHS official said. Federal officials said they were unsure if Corry had the trust of Kennedy or his inner circle, undermining his authority.
In an interview with Fox News that aired Tuesday, Kennedy claimed he never met Corry and did not know much about his former top spokesperson.
“I think that individual had personnel problems and was about to be terminated, and so they may have made up a story to explain their termination, and then, you know, quit before he got that news,” Kennedy said.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon did not comment, when asked about Kennedy’s remarks. Instead, Nixon re-sent a previous statement attributed to principal deputy chief of staff Stefanie Spear about Kennedy making measles a “top priority” for his team.
Spear is one of a handful of aides now at HHS to have worked for Kennedy during his longshot presidential campaign. Many others were hired from the ranks of Trump supporters and alumni of other federal agencies.
This includes Nixon, who previously handled press for Trump’s campaign. Nixon had reported to Corry alongside Michael Brady, a former top Army public affairs official.
Corry previously served as a communications official for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the first Trump administration.
Multiple current CMS officials praised Corry as highly competent, trusted and well-liked among career federal health officials, as well as by Trump aides.
Spear, who also has the title of a senior counselor to Kennedy, has been tightly controlling communications across the department, multiple officials said.
Before Kennedy’s confirmation, Spear ordered the unprecedented department-wide communications “pause” that froze the release of information across HHS.
Other factors have contributed to challenges within the communications shop, including a shortfall in staffing, a former HHS official said.
During the Biden administration, when top-ranking civil servants within the communications office retired in recent years, they were replaced by political appointees, not career executives who would stay on after the White House changed hands.
That complicated the transition and left the incoming Trump administration with a deficit of institutional knowledge.
More changes could be coming soon to the communications officials who remain. A current HHS official said staff within the team were asked to provide explanations of their “roles and responsibilities” by noon on Tuesday.
