2 senior HHS leaders to exit roles 

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and General Counsel Mike Stuart plan to step down from their roles, Politico reported Feb. 13.

The two senior leaders are being offered other positions within the administration, a person familiar with the matter told Politico.

Mr. O’Neill was named acting CDC director in August following the ouster of Susan Monarez, PhD, who held the role for one month. He was named HHS deputy secretary in June.

HHS saw a series of leadership appointments and exits in 2025, most recently Martin Kulldorff, PhD, who shared plans to step down in December as chair of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Four other CDC leaders resigned in August following Dr. Monarez’s exit.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently made several leadership moves, including naming Chris Klomp chief counselor at HHS. Other appointments include Kyle Diamantas and Grace Graham as senior counselors for the FDA and John Brooks as senior counselor for CMS.

A White House official told Politico the moves underscore the Trump administration’s heightened focus on healthcare as midterm elections approach.

“What basically happened was that HHS Secretary Kennedy, and also the White House, realized that we want to be most efficiently and most effectively implementing that policy and moving the needle on these issues that we see as very clear and unambiguous wins for us,” the official told Politico. 

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