RFK Jr. Slams NYT 'Hit Piece' Accusing Him of Showing 'Little Interest in Managing' HHS, Claims Story Relied on 'Disgruntled' Ex-Employees

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired back at the New York Times, accusing the publication of writing a "hit piece" fueled by "disgruntled" ex-employees.

"Your article exemplifies the biased reporting we have come to expect from you and @nytimes. It was unfair, inimical, and inaccurate," RFK Jr., 72, wrote in a lengthy post shared via X on Wednesday, June 10.

The New York Times published an article titled "Kennedy Shows Minimal Engagement With Vast Health Portfolio" one day earlier, which said the U.S. Health Secretary "demonstrated little interest in managing his sprawling department as he focuses on food and vaccine policies."

RFK Jr. blasted the outlet, saying all he needed to refute the story was to share his "publicly available calendar" filled with "back-to-back meetings all day."

"I am knowledgeable and active on every issue in every division of my department, and I always make the final decisions," he continued. "I meet with the principals at FDA, NIH, CDC, and my senior counselor every morning, something, I’m told, is unprecedented in HHS history. I try to get out of the office between 4:30 and 6:00 PM, so that I can spend three hours, in quiet, responding to emails. I normally work until 11 PM every night, mostly on phone calls to staff."

The federal official claimed the piece "cherry-picked" quotes by former employees whom he "fired or who quit to avoid being fired."

"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 explained. "I came into this job to change the culture of a broken agency that has presided over the worst decline in public health in American history. Of course, I fired people — lots of them!"

He went on to slam former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, who served in the position from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden.

"When I took this job, the building was empty. About 90 percent of the employees were not coming to work," he claimed. "I changed that, but your newspaper never covers my reforms. Nor did you cover the fact that my predecessor almost never showed up for work here during his four years in office."

He alleged that artifacts from the first Trump administration were found in "office drawers," which hinted "no one showed up for work during the Biden years."

The publication responded to RFK Jr. in a follow-up tweet, writing, "The Times set out to examine Secretary Kennedy's leadership and management style in light of numerous vacancies within the Department of Health and Human Services and concerns internally about his detachment from key issues and officials."

"The secretary declined an interview request and did not address detailed questions before publication about his approach to running the department," the statement continued. "This article is based on conversations with a dozen people who have worked directly with Mr. Kennedy during his tenure as secretary. We are confident in our reporting."