Trump HHS appointee apologizes to staff after going on rant about armed insurrections

Trump-appointed Health and Human Services assistant secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo has reportedly apologized to staff members after he went off on a social media rant that included conspiracy theories about armed insurrections related to the 2020 presidential election.

According to Politico, Caputo "called an emergency staff meeting on Tuesday to apologize for leveling a series of false accusations on Facebook Live over the weekend" that included claims that the HHS was leading a "resistance unit" against President Donald Trump, as well as warnings about armed insurrections that would supposedly occur after the election.

Politico's sources claim that Caputo "blamed his recent behavior on a combination of physical health issues and the toll of fielding death threats against his family," and said that he was scheduled to have a meeting with HHS Secretary Alex Azar later in the day.

"The session left some staffers with the impression that Caputo would soon step aside as the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs," the publication writes. "During the meeting, Caputo made allusions to the fact that HHS had functioned for a long time in the past without a permanent top communications official."

Caputo is a longtime ally of right-wing operative Roger Stone, who was found guilty of multiple charges -- including witness tampering, perjury, and obstruction of justice -- as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.