Federal News Network: Jose Arrieta, the Department of Health and Human Services chief information officer, abruptly resigned today. Arrieta said in an interview with Federal News Network that he told senior leadership he would be leaving the agency after only 16 months.”

“‘It has been pretty intense since March with a lot of activity around the pandemic. We’ve had a number of cyber events and launched HHS Protect. We have got it to point where it’s fully functional and only some small technical things need to be addressed. We have been transparent with data and pushed boundaries. The leadership in technology is ready to lead us through this fall,’ he said. ‘I want to spend time with kids, who like most kids are going to school online. This is a good opportunity to work with them because learning via Zoom isn’t easy for 5 and 8 year olds. I’m sad to leave people in HHS and the OCIO office is the best group I’ve ever worked with. This is the most I’ve felt at home during entire career.’ Arrieta said he was unsure when his last day would be, saying he told Secretary Alex Azar he could be as flexible as needed to ensure a smooth transition in the CIO’s office. Arrieta becomes the second senior technology official to leave HHS in the last month. Todd Simpson, the chief product officer for HHS, left in July to be a deputy assistant secretary for DevSecOps at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”