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Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched an attack on The New York Times on Wednesday, accusing the paper of publishing a “hot piece” from disgruntled former employees.
Kennedy’s post on X comes after reports that Kennedy was “vetted” into his position during the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa. Kennedy dismissed the narrative as “propagandist” journalism.
“In order to present your evidence that I was not fired, you cite unknown employees, some of whom I either fired or quit to avoid being fired,” Kennedy wrote on Wednesday.
“He has a preconceived thesis, and he’s willing to prove it,” he added later.
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The article, published earlier this week by New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, was titled “Kennedy Shows Little Deal with Big Health Portfolio.”
Asked Kennedy’s administration, the focus of which was on his handling of the Ebola outbreak, which exposed at least six Americans. The article states that Kennedy has “shown little interest” in running a major health organization and is instead focusing on improving his priorities.
“Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of the work in his department, according to many of his colleagues,” Stolberg wrote. “Instead, they say he is focusing on his priorities, including dietary recommendations and pesticide exposure, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful.”
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Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before a Senate committee. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The piece added that Kennedy made one well-known visit to the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The visit to the Georgia facility came after a gunman opened fire at the headquarters, killing a police officer.
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She went on to call him “not very trusting” of government officials at work and he has surrounded himself with people who support his views, adding that, “Although large positions remain vacant and the wave of veteran health professionals and scientists has left, Mr.
“When I took this job, the building was empty. About 90% of the workers were not coming to work. I changed that, but your newspaper never mentioned my changes,” Kennedy wrote. “You also didn’t cover that my predecessor almost never worked here during the four years he was in charge.”
He also criticized them by citing multiple unnamed sources and former employees, adding, “The standards have changed, and journalism is dead. The Times now employs propagandists,” he said. “The fact that you have less access to decision makers leaves you talking about trivial things and relying on your creativity.”
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The New York Times responded to Kennedy’s criticism, saying he refused the interview and did not answer “detailed questions” before it was published.
“The Times is willing to look into Secretary Kennedy’s leadership and management style because of the many vacancies at the Department of Health and Human Services and internal concerns about his separation from important issues and officials,” a Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The secretary declined an interview request and did not respond to detailed questions prior to publication about his management of the department. This article is based on interviews with a number of people who worked directly with Mr. Kennedy during his time as secretary. We are confident in our reporting.”
