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3h ago

RFK Jr. Fires NIAID Director Weeks After Whistleblower Complaint

Her ouster followed a Sept. 4 complaint alleging politicized grant decisions and official hostility to vaccines.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on the "Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the National Institutes of Health," in Dirksen building on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
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Overview

  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notified Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo of her removal in a Sept. 26 letter that offered no explanation.
  • Marrazzo had been demoted in March and placed on administrative leave in April after raising internal objections to actions by Trump administration appointees, according to her complaint.
  • Her filing alleges canceled research grants, politicization of scientific decisions, flouting of court orders, and unfounded attacks on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
  • Attorney Debra S. Katz says Marrazzo has filed with the Office of Special Counsel and is urging Congress to provide oversight of HHS.
  • Reporting places the dismissal within broader HHS restructuring under Kennedy, including plans to eliminate about 10,000 jobs and the scrapping of $500 million in mRNA vaccine research grants.