Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched an attack against The New York Times, accusing the paper of publishing a ‘hit piece’ sourced by disgruntled former employees. The article, published earlier this week, questioned Kennedy’s management of the department, focusing largely on his handling of the Ebola outbreak.

Response to Criticism

Kennedy rejected the narrative as ‘propagandist’ journalism, stating that the article quoted anonymous employees, some of whom he had fired or who quit to avoid being fired. He also criticized the Times for citing multiple unnamed sources and ex-employees, adding that ‘standards have devolved, and journalism is dead.’ The Times responded to Kennedy’s criticism, saying he declined an interview and didn’t address the ‘detailed questions’ prior to publication.

The article argued that Kennedy has ‘shown little interest’ in managing the details of work in his department, according to multiple colleagues, and instead is focused on advancing his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful. Kennedy has made one known visit to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, which came after a gunman opened fire at its headquarters and killed a police officer.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.