Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) is responsible for the agency’s outfacing communications, strategic planning and speechwriting divisions. Since Trump took office and appointed anti-abortion advocate Charmaine Yoest to lead ASPA, the public affairs office has been beset with scandal. Shortly after Yoest defended former HHS Secretary Tom Price’s $300,000 of chartered flights as a good use of taxpayer money, Price was forced to step down (and Yoest was moved from HHS to the White House). ASPA has also been home to appointees who tweeted racist, xenophobic sentiments. The ASPA’s Executive Office is also home to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Division, responsible for providing the American people with public records upon request.