The Trump administration is attempting to push out its newly appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, who is defying the move even as a wave of high-level departures has commenced.
“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a post on X on Wednesday, less than a month after Monarez was sworn in on July 31.
“@SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad,” the statement continued.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Monarez’s lawyers said she had not resigned or been told she was fired.
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” the attorneys wrote.
“This is not about one official. It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science. The attack on Dr. Monarez is a warning to every American: our evidence-based systems are being undermined from within,” they said.
A White House statement later Wednesday clarified that she had been fired.
“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
“Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the C.D.C.”
Multiple leaders at the CDC submitted their resignations on Wednesday, according to NBC News and “PBS NewsHour.” It’s unclear whether the resignations are related to Monarez’s departure.
Those to depart include Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jen Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology, NBC News reported.
Daskalakis posted his resignation to X, warning about the “dangerous” path the HHS is on.
“After much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough,” he wrote in part.
“Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc,” he continued, adding that “no CDC subject matter expert from my Center” has reported to Kennedy since he took on the role as HHS Secretary.
“I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us,” he added.
An anonymous CDC staff member lamented the recent CDC changes, NBC News reported.
“These guys are the best in the business. They know their stuff,” the staffer said. “I’m stunned how fast this all happened.”
The Washington Post first reported on Monarez on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources who said she was being “ousted” after not jumping on board with the decision by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials to change the country’s coronavirus vaccine policy.
Kennedy announced new restrictions on COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday, limiting vaccines to patients over 65 years old and people with preexisting health issues.
In response to Wednesday’s news, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) commended Monarez for standing up to Kennedy, whom Murray accused of dismantling public health infrastructure and leaving the U.S. unprepared for a future pandemic.
“We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired,” Murray said in a statement. “I hope my Republican colleagues who have come to regret their vote to confirm RFK Jr. will join me in calling for his immediate termination from office.”
Former CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah told CNN that Monarez’s ouster “is another example of the chaotic leadership we’ve seen under Secretary Kennedy, and in times of increasing public health threats, stable leadership matters.”
“The instability we’re seeing at CDC will not help [make] Americans healthy again,” Shah said, in reference to the Trump administration slogan.
The news comes after the Aug. 8 shooting at the main Atlanta campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and two and a half weeks after the White House dismissed former Republican Rep. Billy Long as the IRS commissioner when he was less than two months into the role.
President Donald Trump chose Monarez to lead the CDC after his first pick, Dave Weldon, fell through. The White House withdrew its nomination of Weldon for his vaccine skepticism.
HHS declined HuffPost’s request for additional comment. The White House did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
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