Kennedy fires back at report that he’s checked out

Kennedy slams – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blasted a New York Times report portraying him as disengaged at work—rejecting claims he only puts in six hours a day, misses key weekly meetings, and spends time scrolling on his phone. Kennedy says th

For weeks, the spotlight has hovered over Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and how he runs the department. But the newest fight isn’t about a policy dispute—it’s about whether he’s actually showing up.

On June 7. The New York Times reported that Kennedy. 72. works only six hours a day and has little engagement with his staff. The report said he frequently misses a weekly meeting with the heads of the departments’ 13 divisions. It also described him spending the rare meetings he does attend “scrolling his phone.” Staff described Kennedy as “checked out.”.

Kennedy took strong exception to the story. In a fiery X post attacking the report and the reporter, Sheryl Gay Tolberg, he wrote: “Sheryl. Your article exemplifies the biased reporting we have come to expect from you and @nytimes. It was unfair, inimical, and inaccurate. All one needs to refute your argument is to glance at my publicly available calendar and to review my unprecedented list of accomplishments on a wide range of issues. all of which I drove. You evidently never undertook these foundational due diligences. Why let facts obscure a good story?”.

In his lengthy rebuttal, Kennedy pushed back on the core of the Times’ depiction. He said he meets with his counselors every day to discuss policy and strategy. He also disputed the report’s time frame. claiming he leaves the office between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. but then works in the evening until 11 by making phone calls to staff.

He also went after how the story was constructed. Kennedy accused Tolberg of only interviewing disgruntled former employees to build a predetermined, critical narrative about him.

“It’s an easy task for even the laziest journalist. to comb that flotsam and jetsam for malevolence toward the Trump administration. And of course. this species of journalist will always be able to find disgruntled individuals among the 70. 000 employees of the Department from whom to cherry pick ‘facts’ to flesh out a preordained hit piece.”.

But the Times didn’t retreat. The outlet said it stood behind its reporting. describing its investigation as an examination of Kennedy’s leadership and management style “in light of numerous vacancies within the Department of Health and Human Services and concerns internally about his detachment from key issues and officials.”.

The paper also addressed the reporting process itself, saying Kennedy did not respond to interview requests before publication.

“The secretary declined an interview request and did not address detailed questions before publication about his approach to running the department. This article is based on conversations with a dozen people who have worked directly with Mr. Kennedy during his tenure as secretary. We are confident in our reporting.”.

Tolberg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has covered science and health policy for the NYT since 1997.

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