RFK Jr. fires 2 top aides at HHS in staff shakeup

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides. The biographies of Heather Flick Melanson, his chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, deputy chief of staff of policy, are no longer pictured on the department’s leadership page. "Secretary Kennedy has made a leadership change within the Immediate Office of the Secretary," an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Effective immediately, Matt Buckham will serve as Acting Chief of Staff." "Mr. Buckham currently serves as the Kennedy’s White House liaison at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he oversees the recruitment and onboarding of political appointees across the agency. He brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role," the spokesperson added. BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE HALTS TRUMP HHS OVERHAUL AFTER DEMOCRAT-LED LAWSUIT "Secretary Kennedy thanks the outgoing leadership for their service and looks forward to working closely with Mr. Buckham as the Department continues advancing its mission to Make America Healthy Again," the spokesperson also said. Melanson is a lawyer who previously served in multiple top roles at HHS during the first Trump administration. MEDICAL GROUPS URGE KENNEDY, FDA TO REEXAMINE BROAD APPROVAL OF ABORTION DRUGS She previously was HHS' acting general counsel before becoming its acting secretary for administration and then eventually a senior adviser to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Prior to joining HHS for the first time, Flick was an attorney at Dhillon Law Group, a firm founded by Harmeet Dhillon, who Trump has tapped this time around to be his assistant attorney general. "Heather Flick is outstanding and will most definitely help soon to be Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said in a post on X after news of Flick's new role. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.