John Bardis served as HHS assistant secretary of administration since March 2017 and was responsible for departmental operations. | John Shinkle/POLITICO HHS official who approved Tom Price's flights resigns

John Bardis, a top HHS official who signed off on ex-Secretary Tom Price's charter jet flights, is resigning effective April 6, the agency confirmed Thursday.

The health care entrepreneur and longtime friend of Price's from Georgia served as HHS assistant secretary of administration since March 2017 and was responsible for departmental operations. He also helped oversee the ReImagine HHS project, an initiative to overhaul the agency and cut costs.


Bardis' office has been the focus of a probe about whether Price's use of charter-jet flights for routine domestic travel — which cost more than $400,000 — complied with federal regulations. The HHS inspector general's office, which is conducting the probe, told POLITICO that the final report is expected later this spring.

Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan, in a statement, said Bardis was "a truly transformative leader, and HHS has benefited greatly from his dedicated work over the past year."

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“I am deeply grateful to President Trump, Secretary Azar, Secretary Price, and Deputy Secretary Hargan for the opportunity to work on the American people’s behalf at HHS," Bardis said in a statement in which he praised agency staff for "their real passion for advancing the quality of American health care and human services.”

Bardis' deputy, Jon Cordova, was recently allowed to return to HHS after being investigated for spreading conspiracy theories on social media. It is unclear how Bardis' resignation will affect Cordova, who is in line to serve as acting assistant secretary of administration, overseeing human resources, IT and other divisions.

