Overview

• Former CDC chief Susan Monarez and ex–senior official Debra Houry will testify before the Senate HELP Committee on Sept. 17, the panel announced.
• The committee plans a subsequent hearing to give HHS officials an opportunity to respond to Monarez and Houry’s testimony.
• Monarez says she was removed after refusing to preapprove recommendations from a Kennedy-picked advisory panel, a claim Kennedy disputes as he says he sought her resignation.
• Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, and the reconstituted group is slated to consider changes to Hepatitis B, RSV, and COVID-19 recommendations next week.
• The ouster triggered multiple senior resignations and ongoing staff unrest, including a letter from more than 1,000 current and former HHS employees calling for Kennedy to step down.