Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired two of his top aides after only six months of service, in an abrupt change in leadership.

Trump administration officials confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Kennedy fired his chief of staff Heather Flick Melanson and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson. Sources familiar with the matter told multiple outlets that Kennedy lost confidence in his two senior aides, but it is reportedly unclear whether or not there was a single triggering event that prompted the firings.

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When Flick Melanson was appointed chief of staff in January, outside observers speculated that she would function as the eyes and ears of President Donald Trump within Kennedy’s HHS. 

During the first Trump administration, she initially served as HHS acting general counsel before becoming acting secretary for administration and a senior advisor to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Flick Melanson has served two different presidential administrations, according to her Republican National Lawyers Association page. 

Anderson was former policy director for a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee as well as a policy advisor for the Senate health committee, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

Anderson’s LinkedIn profile also says that she worked for the Trump-affiliated America First Policy Institute as the Director for the Center for a Healthy America until she was nominated for the HHS position in January.

An HHS spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Kennedy “thanks the outgoing leadership for their service.”

The HHS spokesperson also said that the department’s White House liaison, Matt Buckham, would serve as Kennedy’s acting chief of staff “effective immediately.”

“Mr. Buckham currently serves as the Secretary’s White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he oversees the recruitment and onboarding of political appointees across the agency,” said the spokesperson. “He brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role.”

Administration officials also said that the department’s White House liaison, Matt Buckham, would transition to fill the role of acting chief of staff. 

HHS did not immediately respond to request for comment from the Washington Examiner. 

An HHS spokesperson told CNN that Buckham adds “valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role.”

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Personnel decisions at HHS have been in flux for Kennedy’s six-month reign over the department, following the decision in April to fire thousands of department employees in an effort to shrink the size of government. 

Following protracted lawsuits against the firing, the Supreme Court granted Kennedy’s team the ability to carry out a portion of its reduction-in-force efforts.