CDC’s chief of staff, deputy chief of staff jointly depart

A pair of senior Trump appointees departed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday, a change at an agency that’s been heavily scrutinized for its response to the coronavirus.

Kyle McGowan, the CDC’s chief of staff, and Amanda Campbell, the deputy chief of staff, both announced their departures in emails to colleagues on Friday morning. In an interview, McGowan said that the pair were starting a new consulting venture and that he wasn’t aware of other pending departures from CDC.

“We picked this day on the calendar and left to start our own business,” McGowan said. “No one has asked us to leave. No one has forced us to leave.”