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Kennedy's offer of selfies with staff came amid widespread firings and resignations across the federal government were underway, including at HHS. Agency officials have not provided details on the firings, including what the impact there could be.

According to people familiar with the effort, some 700 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were fired late last week.

Kennedy urged staff to keep an "open mind" on Tuesday as he planned to turn the agency's vast resources to revisit matters considered as settled science.