Officials depart HHS after incendiary social media posts

Source: Politico






Tim Clark and Gavin Smith's departures come after HHS leadership spent months embarrassed by stories about political appointees' controversial behavior on social media. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo


By DAN DIAMOND

07/13/2018 01:29 PM EDT
Updated 07/13/2018 06:52 PM EDT


Two HHS political appointees who worked on President Donald Trump’s campaign were forced out this week in response to a series of inflammatory tweets and other behavior detailed in a recent POLITICO report.

Tim Clark, the agency's White House liaison, is resigning and will depart the agency in the coming weeks, according to an internal email sent to staff and shared with POLITICO. He has been replaced by Trent Morse, who joined HHS from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Gavin Smith, a policy adviser who used his Twitter account to publicly mock elected officials and reporters, also departed HHS this week. Three individuals with knowledge of the situation said he was escorted from the building, but an HHS official said on Friday that Smith resigned.

Clark and Smith's departures come after HHS leadership spent months embarrassed by stories about political appointees' controversial behavior on social media. The moves also reflect Secretary Alex Azar consolidating his power five months after succeeding Tom Price, who resigned after POLITICO reported on his extensive use of private charter jets and left behind a fractious leadership team...................................

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/13/tweets-hhs-tim-clark-gavin-smith-686407