Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to launch a federal investigation into allegations that New York City health employees used taxpayer-funded resources to hold a “politically motivated” antisemitic meeting during work hours.
In a letter sent to Kennedy on Tuesday, Stefanik requested “an immediate federal investigation into credible reports that employees of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene used taxpayer-funded time, personnel and facilities to hold a politically motivated meeting that included rhetoric widely understood as hostile toward Israel and Jewish communities.”
The group, identified as the “Global Oppression and Public Health Working Group,” reportedly held its first meeting during the workday at NYC Health headquarters and online.
Stefanik said the meeting focused on allegations that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza without reference to the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, or the rise in antisemitic incidents in New York City.
“This matter arises at a time when antisemitism in the United States has reached historic highs,” she wrote. “New York is a hotbed of this scourge of antisemitism, with 463 incidents of anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2024 alone (about 22% of the nationwide total).”
“Simultaneously, the recently inaugurated Mayor Zohran Mamdani has general national concern with executive actions that reversed prior city policies defining antisemitism and prohibiting city agency boycotts of Israel,” she added.
Stefanik asked HHS and its Office of Inspector General to open a formal probe into whether federally funded staff time, equipment or facilities were used to organize or promote the meeting, and to assess compliance with Title VI and HHS civil rights requirements.
She also called on HHS to evaluate whether senior NYC Health leadership or outside political officials reviewed or approved the activity and to determine whether corrective action or recovery of federal funds is warranted.
“If NYC Health employees, while acting in their official capacities and during compensated work time, used federally supported time, resources or property to advance political or ideological narratives that single out the State of Israel or Jewish people, this would constitute both a Title VI civil rights compliance concern as it fosters or condones a hostile environment for a protected class or national origin group,” she said.
It also would be “a misuse of federal funds under OMB Uniform Guidance, as personnel time and agency facilities were used for activities that are not connected to federally authorized public health program objectives,” Stefanik added.
The congresswoman requested a briefing within 30 days on the status of the inquiry and any preliminary findings.
