A former aide to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accidentally crashed into his car after being abruptly fired from her post, officials said.
Hannah Anderson, who had served as deputy chief of staff for policy, was dismissed in June after only a few months on the job.
Anderson was dismissed along with then–Chief of Staff Heather Flick Melanson in a broader leadership shakeup at HHS, which has seen a string of high-profile departures as Secretary Kennedy realigns the department with President Trump’s policy agenda, the Daily Beast reported.
After her firing, Anderson was so distraught that she accidentally backed her car into Kennedy’s, the Wall Street Journal noted, citing sources familiar with the incident.
The minor crash was included in a WSJ profile highlighting turmoil inside the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which has also seen the ouster of Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s top vaccine official and head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Dr. Vinay Prasad was forced out in July following a pressure campaign led by independent investigative journalist Laura Loomer. During his tenure, he clashed with biotech firm Sarepta Therapeutics and halted shipments of a drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare muscle-wasting disease.
He was later reinstated after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary persuaded White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to approve his return, said the WSJ.
Meanwhile, CDC Director Susan Monarez resigned after less than a month in the post, with several senior officials also departing in her wake.
Monarez clashed with Kennedy over vaccine policy before being dismissed, and the White House said in a statement that she was “not aligned with the president’s agenda.”
Her ouster came shortly after the Daily Beast quoted a Kennedy ally claiming the Trump administration was considering pulling COVID-19 mRNA vaccines “within months.”
The WSJ also reports that Kennedy is facing pushback on his other priorities, including his targeting of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, over claims linking it to cancer.
Kennedy’s effort to curb pesticide use, including restrictions on glyphosate, sparked White House concerns about food supply disruptions and led officials to direct him earlier this year to stop raising the issue, the Wall Street Journal reported. He has largely remained quiet on the matter since, the WSJ report said.
Trump on Monday demanded drugmakers “justify” the effectiveness of their COVID-19 treatments as his administration grapples with internal disputes over vaccines and other health policies.
“It is very important that the drug companies justify the success of their various Covid drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!” the president said in a Truth Social post.
“With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it now,” he continued. “I have been shown information from Pfizer, and others, that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not?” he added.
“They go off to the next ‘hunt’ and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and CDC, trying to figure out the success or failure of the drug companies covid work. They show me great numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others,” Trump wrote.
“I want them to show them now, to CDC and the public, and clear up this mess, one way or the other! I hope Operation Warp Speed was brilliant as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why?”
Nine former CDC directors and acting directors on Monday criticized Kennedy Jr. for his leadership and effort to oust Monarez.