HHS official put on leave amid probe into social media posts

An official with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been placed on leave while the department looks into inflammatory social media posts, CNN reported Tuesday.

Jon Cordova, the principal deputy assistant secretary for administration at HHS, previously shared stories on his social media accounts that included false claims about Gold Star father Khizr Khan, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Hillary Clinton, CNN found.

Following the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Cordova shared a story that pushed the conspiracy theory that Khan, who spoke at the event, was a “Muslim plant working with the Hillary Clinton campaign.” 

{mosads}Cordova has frequently attacked Democratic officials, including former President Obama and Clinton. In a December 2016 Facebook comment, Cordova called Clinton a “slimy trailer trash huckster,” CNN reported.

He has also promoted social media posts containing stories that falsely claim Cruz, who opposed Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, was involved in a sex scandal and hid biographical information.

Cordova has since removed the inflammatory posts from his Twitter page, CNN reported. 

Cordova joined HHS in February 2017. His current role involves overseeing day-to-day operations in the Office of Human Relations and other offices within HHS.

He did not respond to CNN requests for comment. 

Multiple Trump administration officials have resigned in the last year following reporting on their past social media posts, including Carl Higbie and William C. Bradford.