The second in command at the Department of Health and Human Services is leaving his post as part of a shake-up in personnel ahead of the midterm elections.
HHS Deputy Secretary and acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jim O’Neill departed the administration, a source familiar with the situation told the Washington Examiner. He changed his bio on his X account to “formerly @hhsgov” as of Friday afternoon. O’Neill did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
O’Neill has served as the lieutenant to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and was confirmed by the Senate for the post last June. He temporarily took the reins at CDC following the ousting of Senate-confirmed Director Susan Monarez following a disagreement between her and Kennedy over vaccines.
O’Neill has been a controversial figure at CDC for approving recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which comprises members selected by Kennedy, that have been criticized by mainstream health experts, including no longer routinely recommending the Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and limiting recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines.
But O’Neill had more government health policy experience than many of President Donald Trump’s nominees for senior HHS leadership positions, having served for several years at HHS under former President George W. Bush.
O’Neill left the Bush HHS in 2007 and eventually became the CEO of the Thiel Foundation, owned by billionaire Trump-donor Peter Thiel. As a biotech investor, O’Neill specialized in anti-aging research and organ transplant technology.
While in the Trump administration, O’Neill was heavily involved in uncovering Medicaid fraud across the country and promoting the GOP’s $1 trillion reduction in Medicaid spending through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Congress last year. He was also a strong proponent of the United States pulling out of the World Health Organization and setting up a parallel international health system led by the U.S.
HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart is also reportedly leaving his position, according to multiple media reports. HHS did not respond to requests for comment about their departures.
HHS announced on Thursday afternoon that several lower-level leaders within the department were being promoted to advise Kennedy on the implementation of Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan,” aimed at lowering healthcare costs.
Chris Klomp, the architect of Trump’s Most Favored Nations drug pricing deals at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was promoted to be chief counselor at HHS and overseer of all department operations, according to Thursday’s press release.
Kyle Diamantas, head of human foods at the Food and Drug Administration, was also promoted to be one of Kennedy’s senior counselors for the FDA. Diamantas was a central player in developing the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans that emphasize whole foods and doubling protein intake.
In Thursday’s press release on the promotions, Kennedy said that he was “proud to elevate battle-tested, principled leaders onto my immediate team.”
“In just over a year, we have driven historic progress on President Trump’s healthcare priorities and delivered real, measurable change,” Kennedy said. “We are restoring accountability, challenging entrenched interests, and putting the health of the American people first.”
A White House official told Politico that the moves are aimed at “muscling up the management team over at HHS” to emphasize the Make America Healthy Again agenda ahead of the midterm elections.
Kennedy’s policies toward improving access to healthy foods and bolstering the nation’s nutrition have remained popular with voters but polling indicates that the vaccine policy coming out of the CDC, including decreasing the number of recommended childhood vaccines, is unpopular even among Republicans.
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As of January, only 55% of Democrats and 43% of Republicans say they are fairly confident in the CDC’s reliability in providing accurate information and guidance on vaccines, according to the health policy organization KFF.
It is unclear who will take over at the CDC. O’Neill’s time as acting director of the CDC was set to expire on March 27, 210 days from his initial appointment to the statutorily temporary post.
