Overview
- Rep. Elise Stefanik formally asked HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the HHS inspector general to open a probe into reports of an internal working group at New York City’s health department.
- She urged a determination on whether federally funded staff time, equipment, or facilities were used and whether the activity violated Title VI by fostering a hostile environment for Jewish employees or the public.
- Reports say employees formed a “Global Oppression and Public Health Working Group” that met during work hours at the agency’s Long Island City headquarters, with a presenter referencing an “ongoing genocide in Palestine” in a mission statement.
- Stefanik requested a briefing within 30 days, and she also asked whether agency leaders or City Hall reviewed or approved the initiative and whether proper grant controls were followed.
- City Hall and the health department offered no immediate comment, Acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse declined to comment, and House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the agency’s politicization as City Council Speaker Julie Menin raised concerns.