Top HHS Official Claims He Was Fired as Part of ‘A Coup’ Against RFK Jr. — Orchestrated by Kennedy’s Own Chief of Staff

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

A top Health and Human Services official claimed his recent firing was part of a “coup” to take down HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

According to a report from The New York Times, Steven Hatfill confirmed that he had been fired from his position over the weekend. While one unnamed official claimed the firing had been due to Hatfill allegedly misrepresenting himself as a “chief medical officer” for the assistant secretary. The official also accused Hatfill of “not coordinating policy-making with leadership.”

Hatfill, however, suggested to The New York Times that there was a more sinister conspiracy at play:

In a brief telephone interview, Dr. Hatfill said that was not true. He said he was ousted as part of “a coup to overthrow Mr. Kennedy” that he claimed was being organized by Matt Buckham, Mr. Kennedy’s chief of staff, but did not explain why his ouster was evidence of the effort. Dr. Hatfill said Mr. Buckham had told him that the secretary “wants to go in a different direction” and asked him to resign, but he refused and said the department would have to fire him instead.

As noted in the report, Hatfill was among Kennedy’s allies within the HHS. He previously support Kennedy’s controversial decision to gut funding for mRNA vaccine research.

Hatfill’s sudden departure was part of a continued staffing shakeup among health agencies under Kennedy’s leadership. Former CDC chief Susan Monarez was notably fired over her opposition to Kennedy’s vaccine mandate; and Kennedy recently cut more than 1,000 jobs from that same agency in October. The CDC has come under intense scrutiny since Kennedy was confirmed as HHS secretary.