An attempted ousting of the nation’s head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A series of resignations amid escalating pressure from the Trump administration to change vaccine policy. As Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. oversees the agency and attempts to mold it in his vision of vaccine skepticism, the CDC has been plunged into bedlam as America’s public health care hangs in the balance.
On Wednesday, after the The Washington Post reported that Susan Monarez had been ousted from her role as director of the CDC, HHS appeared to confirmed the ousting in an X post. “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people,” the agency wrote. “@SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”
However, Monarez’s lawyers were quick to refute the notion that she had been axed from the CDC. In a statement to Rolling Stone, attorneys Mark S. Zaid and Abbe David Lowel say that Monarez “has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired.”
“Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk,” her lawyers continue. “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.” They stated that Monarez, who has served across several federal health agencies for decades, “will not resign.”
Amid the turmoil, a series of resignations have taken place.
Four top CDC leaders said they were resigning on Wednesday, per Reuters and NBC News, including Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Debra Houry, CDC Chief Medical Officer; Daniel Jernigan, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Director; and Jen Layden, Director of the CDC Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology.
Multiple former and current CDC staffers confirmed the attempted ouster and series of resignations to Rolling Stone, adding that there was widespread fear among former and present personnel that the void will be filled by RFK Jr.-style diehards and zealots. Rolling Stone also reviewed copies of resignation letters.
“MAHA craziness is gonna run the table,” one source warned. “It’s really bad now but things can always get worse.” A former CDC staffer adds: “This is the work of a death cult.”
In June, Kennedy fired a panel of 17 medical and public health experts that advised the CDC on vaccine policy, and is expected to restaff them with individuals aligned with his skepticism over vaccines. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines for fall but limited who is eligible for the shots to adults 65 and older, and younger people who are at higher risk. The announcement arrived as Covid-19 levels in the U.S. have been on the rise for months.
Monarez’s lawyers say that this “is not about one official. It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science.” They added, “The attack on Dr. Monarez is a warning to every American: our evidence-based systems are being undermined from within. Science and integrity can never be compromised.”
