Texas Health and Human Services deputy commissioner Chris Traylor at the "Future Of State Health Policy" panel at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 22, 2012.
Texas Health and Human Services deputy commissioner Chris Traylor at the "Future Of State Health Policy" panel at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 22, 2012. Bob Daemmrich

Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Chris Traylor plans to retire at the end of May after 11 months on the job, according to sources briefed on the decision.

Traylor was named the agency’s chief last June just as he was poised to retire from the health and human services agency. He is a former commissioner of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

Traylor was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to lead the health commission after predecessor Kyle Janek stepped down amid a scandal over how a government contract was awarded at the agency. At the time, Traylor was a deputy commissioner.

Speculation abounds that Charles Smith, a longtime Abbott ally, will be first in line to succeed Traylor. Smith currently serves in a joint role as interim director of Child Protective Services and chief deputy executive commissioner for the health commission.

Traylor’s retirement was first reported by the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News.

Texans need the truth. Help us report it.

Become a member. Join today.

Choose an amount or learn more about membership.

Edgar Walters worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2020, most recently covering health and human services. Before that, he had a political reporting fellowship with the Berliner Zeitung, a daily newspaper...