Overview

• In a New York Times guest essay, nine ex-CDC leaders from both parties said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining public health, citing mass layoffs, research cuts, advisory panel overhauls, and an end to U.S. support for some global vaccination programs.
• The directors linked the turmoil to the ouster of CDC chief Susan Monarez, who, according to her lawyers, refused to endorse vaccine limitations pushed by Kennedy, prompting at least four senior resignations and staff protests.
• The White House defended the shake-up and installed Kennedy deputy Jim O’Neill as acting CDC director, with officials saying the administration seeks a more accountable, publicly facing agency.
• Kennedy, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, argued his reforms aim to restore trust, refocus the CDC on infectious diseases, and apply what he called gold-standard science to vaccine recommendations.
• The former directors urged Congress to exercise oversight and asked states, local governments, philanthropy, and the private sector to help fill funding gaps as the nation confronts its worst measles outbreak in decades.