A top staffer to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly quit after just two weeks on the job over his management of a growing measles outbreak.
Thomas Corry, who had served in Donald Trump's first administration, had returned to government last week as Kennedy's top spokesman, but he issued a terse statement Monday on his LinkedIn page announcing he was quitting immediately, reported Politico.
"Corry resigned after clashing with RFK Jr. and his close aides over their management of HHS amid the growing measles outbreak, two people familiar with the matter tell me," reported Adam Cancryn, the website's White House reporter.
The health care industry veteran had grown uncomfortable with Kennedy's seeming lack of urgency over the Texas measles outbreak, the sources said, and clashed with Kennedy principal deputy chief of staff, Stefanie Spear, over their management of HHS.
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Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, said last week that measles outbreaks are “not unusual," after they were declared eliminated in the U.S. a quarter century ago, and a child became the nation's first person to die from the disease in a decade.
“I want to announce to my friends and colleagues that last Friday I announced my resignation effective immediately,” Corry posted Monday on his LinkedIn pag. “To my colleagues at HHS, I wish you the best and great success.”
Corry had previously served during Trump's first term as senior adviser and communications director at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
