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2h ago

White House Fires CDC Director Susan Monarez After Resignation Standoff as Senior Leaders Quit

The clash follows HHS-driven vaccine policy changes, with a reshaped advisory panel that career scientists say undercut CDC independence.

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FILE PHOTO: Susan Monarez, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
Dr. Susan Monarez testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on her nomination to be Director of the CDC, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is under fire from former public health officials amid the mass exodus of leadership from the CDC.

Overview

  • Soon after HHS posted that Susan Monarez was no longer CDC director, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said she was terminated for refusing to resign and not aligning with the president’s agenda.
  • Monarez’s attorneys Abbe David Lowell and Mark S. Zaid said she has neither resigned nor received a firing notice and that she will not step down.
  • Four senior officials submitted resignations the same day — Debra Houry, Demetre Daskalakis, Daniel Jernigan and Jennifer Layden — citing concerns over politicized decision-making and constraints on scientific work.
  • Reporting links the ouster push to disputes with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy and his overhaul of the CDC’s immunization advisory process, including directives to remove CDC leaders.
  • The FDA approved updated COVID-19 vaccines with narrower eligibility for people 65 and older and those at higher risk, reflecting the administration’s tightened guidance as CDC’s leadership picture remains unsettled.