Websites for the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC show Jim O’Neill no longer holds his leadership roles, leaving the CDC director position vacant.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Jim O’Neill, the top deputy to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is no longer serving in either position, according to updates posted on federal agency websites.
The Department of Health and Human Services and CDC webpages listing agency leadership were updated Feb. 16, removing O’Neill’s biography and reflecting that the CDC director role is now vacant. O’Neill’s profile on X describes him as formerly working for HHS. Neither HHS nor the CDC responded to requests for comment by publication time.
The Senate confirmed O’Neill in June 2025 as deputy secretary of HHS. In July 2025, senators confirmed Susan Monarez as CDC director. Monarez, who does not hold a medical degree, was later dismissed in August 2025 by Kennedy and President Donald Trump following disagreements over potential changes to vaccine guidance. Trump subsequently appointed O’Neill, who also does not have a medical degree, to serve as acting CDC director.
During his tenure, O’Neill aligned with Kennedy and Trump on vaccine policy matters. He approved a proposal to narrow the number of vaccines the CDC broadly recommends for children and supported calls for vaccine manufacturers to separate combination vaccines for measles and other diseases into individual shots.
Later in 2025, the administration brought in Abraham, Louisiana’s former surgeon general, who had criticized the CDC for what he described as misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and questioned the promotion of COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children.
Under directives from Kennedy, the CDC ceased recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. O’Neill later adopted guidance from CDC advisers stating that individuals should receive a COVID-19 shot only after consulting with a health care professional and considering factors such as age.
O’Neill’s departure follows additional leadership changes at HHS. The Trump administration elevated Chris Klomp, previously deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to chief counselor at HHS. John Brooks, also a deputy administrator at the centers, was appointed senior counselor to the division.
Kennedy also selected Food and Drug Administration officials Kyle Diamantas and Grace Graham as senior counselors.
“I am proud to elevate battle-tested, principled leaders onto my immediate team—individuals with the courage and experience to help us move faster and go further as we work to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said in a Feb. 12 statement.
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