Overview

• The op-ed, signed by nine former CDC leaders spanning 1977 to 2025, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership is unlike anything the agency or country has experienced.
• President Trump fired CDC director Susan Monarez after clashes over vaccine directives, prompting at least four senior resignations in protest.
• The authors cite mass firings, canceled research, reshaped advisory panels, curtailed global vaccination efforts, and promotion of unproven treatments during a measles outbreak.
• The White House defended the shake-up as aligning leadership with its agenda, and deputy HHS official Jim O’Neill has been named acting CDC director.
• The essay calls for congressional oversight and outside funding support, while lawmakers and public-health leaders — including Sen. Bernie Sanders — escalate demands for hearings or resignation.