Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo has been diagnosed with “a metastatic head and neck cancer,” a family spokesman announced on Thursday.
Doctors at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, diagnosed Caputo, who recently took two months of medical leave, with "squamous cell carcinoma, a metastatic head and neck cancer which originated in his throat," spokesman David DiPietro said in a statement, according to CNN.
Caputo is currently resting at his home in western New York following surgery performed last week, where he and his family will "decide next steps in Michael's care and recovery.”
The department announced last week that Caputo would take a leave of absence “to focus on his health and the well-being of his family."
He announced last Wednesday that he was going to have the "necessary screenings for a lymphatic issue discovered last week."
Caputo’s departure came just a day after he issued an apology for criticizing government scientists and accusing them of “sedition” and trying to undermine the president.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.