Amid Transparency Suit, HHS Adviser Says He Worked in ‘Partnership’ With YouTuber Nick Shirley at HRC Event

A Department of Health and Human Services adviser described working in “partnership” with conservative YouTube personality Nick Shirley at a closed-door Harvard Republican Club event Wednesday, according to two people in attendance.

The remarks come as the American Civil Liberties Union and several other civil rights groups press a federal lawsuit seeking records of the administration’s communications with Shirley. The case remains pending.

The event drew roughly 100 attendees, according to the two people, who were granted anonymity because the event was designated off the record.

Shirley delivered a keynote address, and Noah Sofio, an HHS adviser to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet C. Oz ’82, moderated a question-and-answer session afterward.

According to one of the attendees, Sofio said during the event that he and Shirley had a “partnership”: Shirley identified instances of what he called “fraud” in American governance, while Sofio worked from inside HHS — alongside Oz and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ’76 — to act on them.

After Sofio described the arrangement with Shirley as a partnership, Shirley responded by asking him, “So you guys would be watching my videos and be like ‘Hmmmm, how did we not find this yet?’”

Sofio responded that he, Kennedy, and Oz had watched some of Shirley’s videos but did not specify which ones, according to the attendees.

In a statement, Shirley wrote that he had posed the question to “correct” Sofio, arguing that it showed government agencies had made use of his reporting but did not indicate an official relationship.

“I expose fraud by myself through public records that every citizen and government (federal and state) has access to,” he wrote. “I exposed the fraud which led to federal money freezes and arrests in Minnesota and also charges and prosecutions in both Minnesota and California (hospice/medicaid). I am 100% independent.”

The ACLU and several other civil rights groups sued HHS in July, alleging the department had unlawfully withheld records about the administration’s restrictions on federal child care and family assistance funding. The groups filed suit after HHS did not respond to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking, among other records, correspondence between federal officials and Shirley.

The complaint argues that the lack of transparency around the restrictions concealed information the public needs to understand “the conduct of its government in matters that affect civil liberties and human rights.”

An HHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about Sofio’s remarks.

Shirley, a 23-year-old who describes himself as an independent journalist, drew national attention on Dec. 26, 2025, when he posted a video alleging that day care centers in Minneapolis run by Somali residents were collecting public funds while serving few or no children. The video was amplified online by Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance, and FBI Director Kash Patel. Shirley’s claims have not been independently verified by major news outlets.

Four days later, HHS froze federal child care payments to Minnesota. Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill announced the freeze on X and cited Shirley’s work directly.

“You have probably read the serious allegations that the state of Minnesota has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across Minnesota over the past decade,” O’Neill wrote. “Alex Adams and I have identified the individuals in @nickshirleyy’s excellent work.”

The freeze was later extended to four additional Democratic-led states before HHS rescinded it in July.

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth said at a December press conference that her caucus had worked with Shirley before the video’s release.

“Our caucus has been working to expose fraud for years, including working with Nick Shirley and agency whistleblowers to get the information out to the public and to hold the Walz administration accountable,” she said.

At Wednesday’s event, Shirley also claimed to have ended Gov. Tim Walz’s political career, according to the attendees. Walz, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, abandoned his bid for a third term in January amid fallout from the fraud allegations.

The talk went forward despite online backlash that began after the HRC advertised it on social media. A University of California Irvine lecturer replied to the club’s promotional post with a message that appeared to allude to violence against Shirley, invoking the anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s death — which fell the day after Shirley was scheduled to speak.

Shirley opened his remarks by addressing the post, displaying images of it and other threats in a slideshow, the attendees said. He then turned to his upbringing in a Mormon household and his path to internet fame, from prank videos to political content.

—Staff writer Alma T. Barak can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at almabk.54. Follow her on X @almabk_.

—Staff writer Theresa F. Bartelme can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at theresabartelme.15. Follow her on X @theresabartelme.