Kennedy cites unavailable calendar in rebuttal to Times report
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attacked a New York Times story on HHS management, while saying his calendar is public and that HHS limits access for the Times.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disputed a New York Times report that portrayed him as detached from the day-to-day work of the Department of Health and Human Services. In a social media response, Kennedy pointed to a public calendar that STAT News and Ars Technica said they could not find, and he said HHS was unwilling to discuss important topics with the Times.
The New York Times reported Sunday, June 7, that Kennedy had limited involvement with agency staff and operations, citing a dozen people who had direct contact with him during his tenure as health secretary. According to the Times, those sources described Kennedy as missing recurring meetings with agency leaders, appearing disengaged in some meetings he attended and being uninformed about some major personnel decisions.
The Times also reported that Kennedy often directed people to Stefanie Spear, his longtime assistant. Colleagues told the Times that Spear’s role had slowed work inside the department and contributed to leadership departures, according to Ars Technica’s account of the report.
Kennedy says his schedule rebuts the story
Kennedy answered the Times article Wednesday night with an 871-word post on X aimed at the newspaper and reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, according to Ars Technica. Kennedy wrote that his schedule would disprove the article’s central claim.
“All one needs to refute your argument is to glance at my publicly available calendar,” Kennedy wrote, according to Ars Technica. He also wrote that his calendar showed “back-to-back meetings all day, every day” with career and political staff.
Ars Technica reported that it was not aware of any publicly available HHS calendar for Kennedy. STAT News reported Thursday that its journalists also did not know of a public calendar, despite having sought Kennedy’s schedule through the HHS press office and through Freedom of Information Act requests.
STAT said none of its FOIA requests for Kennedy’s calendar had been completed, and that some had not been acknowledged. The outlet reported that HHS policy requires a response with tracking and contact information within 10 days of a request.
STAT also reported that three of its inquiries from September 2025 had not received required responses and that a webpage previously used to track requests had been removed. According to STAT, requests from citizens and lawmakers have also gone unanswered, while a leader of Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy’s anti-vaccine group, has reportedly received responses to FOIA requests.
Access limits draw attention
Ars Technica said it asked the HHS press office for comment and for a link to Kennedy’s public calendar, but did not receive an immediate response. STAT also reported that HHS did not respond to its requests for comment after Kennedy’s post.
Kennedy had promoted government openness after taking office, according to Ars Technica. In April 2025, he told reporters that HHS was restoring FOIA offices, would make information easier to obtain and would post as much as possible.
His post also stated that HHS restricts access for the Times because of what Kennedy called bias. “Since we all are aware of your predictable bias, we at HHS are unwilling to talk to you about the topics that are important,” Kennedy wrote, according to Ars Technica.
Kennedy added that the Times had “minimal access to decision makers,” according to Ars Technica. The statement drew attention because it described selective withholding of information from a news organization while Kennedy was defending himself against criticism that he is disconnected from the agency he leads.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.