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44m ago

White House Fires CDC Director as RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Shakeup Fuels Resignations and Senate Scrutiny

Sen. Bill Cassidy demands oversight, with a call to delay the reconstituted vaccine panel meeting following high‑level CDC departures.

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a press conference with Texas Governor Greg Abbott (not pictured) at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S., August 28, 2025.
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U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro blasted President Trump's tax and spending bill. Here, she stands with other Connecticut leaders during a news conference at the state Capitol in Hartford on Jan. 28, 2025. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)

Overview

  • White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump dismissed CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to follow recommendations from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine panel.
  • At least four senior CDC officials resigned in protest, including Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry and immunization leader Demetre Daskalakis, who warned of threats to scientific integrity and national health security.
  • Kennedy rolled back federal COVID-19 vaccination guidance, canceled about $500 million in mRNA funding, removed all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, and installed hand‑picked advisers that include vaccine skeptics.
  • Cassidy, a physician who helped advance and later voted to confirm Kennedy, is pressing for hearings and says the vaccine panel’s Sept. 18 meeting should be postponed, drawing criticism from health experts who fault his earlier vote.
  • Democrats such as Rep. Rosa DeLauro are urging Kennedy’s removal, as the FDA approves updated COVID vaccines with narrowed recommendations to older adults and high‑risk patients and questions persist about insurance coverage for others.