DOGE holdover who pushed for deep cuts at HHS is headed to the Navy
Source: Politico
10/30/2025 10:18 AM EDT
A top adviser who pressed for thousands of job cuts has left the Department of Health and Human Services — and landed another prominent role at the Navy, the two agencies have confirmed.
Rachel Riley is replacing Rear Admiral Kurt J. Rothenhaus as chief of naval research. Rothenhaus had held the job, which disburses billions of dollars in grants and contracts, since June 2023.
According to a document POLITICO reviewed, Riley, a former partner at the blue chip consulting firm McKinsey & Company who joined HHS as part of the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency in January, was the driving force behind an attempt to lay off nearly 8,000 employees at the end of September. POLITICO first reported on the plan on Friday.
Agency officials rejected the plan. The National Institutes of Health, which was asked to cut 4,545 positions, cut no one. Other agencies made cuts, but not nearly as many as Riley had recommended. HHS originally fired 1,760 workers on Oct. 10, then backtracked, blaming a coding error. Nine hundred and fifty-four jobs remain on the chopping block, though a federal court has stopped them for now. A month after Riley’s push, the senior adviser is no longer at HHS. She did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/30/doge-holdover-who-pushed-for-deep-cuts-at-hhs-is-headed-to-the-navy-00629729
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