White House moves to tighten HHS management ahead of midterms

The White House and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. are reshuffling senior leadership at HHS ahead of the midterm elections to tighten operations and sharpen the department’s public message, reports the Wall Street Journal. Chief among these is the elevation of Chris Klomp, the administration’s Medicare chief and a former healthcare executive, into a new number 2 role as Kennedy’s chief counselor and de facto chief of staff.

Klomp is expected to oversee day-to-day management and communications, supported by a small group of senior counselors. John Brooks will handle Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issues, while FDA officials Grace Graham and Kyle Diamantas will take on counselor roles focused on managing FDA-related work from within HHS. CNN reported the White House sees the moves as adding “management muscle” to accelerate the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, including “most favored nation” drug-pricing initiatives and a broader push on healthier eating. The shake-up also reflects frustration among Trump officials with past HHS coordination problems and politically sensitive controversies, including Kennedy’s vaccine overhaul efforts.