Particle.news
Download on the App Store
122 ARTICLES
·
4h ago

White House Fires CDC Director Susan Monarez After Weeks on the Job

The White House cites misalignment with the president’s health agenda following disputes over vaccine policy.

Image
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
© Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Image

Overview

  • HHS posted that Susan Monarez is no longer CDC director, while her attorneys said she has neither resigned nor received a firing notice and will not step down.
  • White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the administration terminated Monarez after she refused to resign, asserting she was not aligned with its Making America Healthy Again agenda.
  • Four senior CDC leaders submitted resignations within hours: Debra Houry, Demetre Daskalakis, Daniel Jernigan and Jen Layden, with letters citing politicization, vaccine-policy shifts and cuts.
  • The turmoil follows HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of vaccine policy, including replacing the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and narrowing COVID-19 recommendations, with further eligibility changes announced Wednesday.
  • Monarez was confirmed July 29 and sworn in July 31, making her tenure less than a month, and no successor was announced as concerns grow about CDC capacity after a recent campus shooting and staff reductions.