RFK Jr. Claims Calendar Is Public While HHS Blocks FOIA Requests; Disputes Media Reports on Engagement
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed his calendar is publicly available to demonstrate transparency, but STAT News reports the HHS has not released it despite over a year of FOIA requests. Kennedy also attacked The New York Times for publishing a critical report about his management style, citing anonymous sources he says are disgruntled employees. The dispute highlights tensions between Kennedy's stated commitment to transparency and documented barriers to information access.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. invoked a "publicly available calendar" as evidence of his transparency commitment, but STAT News reports that no such calendar has been released by the Department of Health and Human Services despite more than a year of FOIA requests. The HHS has faced multiple lawsuits over information failures, reduced FOIA staff, and created a backlog of 12,000 requests with response times exceeding 180 days. Separately, Kennedy attacked The New York Times for publishing a report questioning his engagement with the department's vast portfolio, accusing the paper of relying on anonymous sources from employees he fired or who quit. The Times defended its reporting as based on conversations with a dozen people who worked directly with Kennedy and said he declined to be interviewed. The incidents underscore the tension between Kennedy's campaign promises of "radical transparency" and documented obstacles to accessing government information.
How coverage differed
STAT News focuses on the factual discrepancy between Kennedy's transparency claims and documented FOIA barriers, while Fox News emphasizes Kennedy's counterattack on media credibility and frames the Times report as relying on disgruntled sources, reflecting their respective editorial orientations.
What different sources said
- New York PostRight
RFK Jr. rips NYT for publishing ‘hit piece’ sourced by ‘disgruntled’ ex- employees: ‘Propagandists’
- Fox NewsRight
RFK Jr accuses NYT of publishing 'hit piece' sourced by 'disgruntled' employees he purged
- STAT NewsCenter
RFK Jr. claims his calendar is publicly available. We’ve been trying to get it for a year
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