The White House on Wednesday announced the dismissal of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez, escalating turmoil inside the nation’s top public health agency.
In a statement, officials said Dr. Monarez was “not aligned with the president’s agenda” and had been removed from her position. The decision followed her refusal to resign after being pressed to step down earlier in the day.
Monarez’s lawyers said she had not been informed of her removal, describing the move as retaliation for rejecting “unscientific, reckless directives” and resisting pressure to dismiss career health experts. They accused Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of “weaponising public health” in pursuit of his vaccine-sceptic agenda.
The firing triggered a wave of high-profile resignations at the CDC. Among those departing were Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who cited the “rise of misinformation” about vaccines, Daniel Jernigan, head of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Reports also indicated that Dr. Jennifer Layden, who oversaw public health data and surveillance, had stepped down.
The exodus underscores growing concern among public health leaders over the direction of the agency under Kennedy, who has long been critical of vaccines. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new Covid vaccines but sharply limited their availability, restricting them to seniors and high-risk groups. Kennedy hailed the move as a rollback of “broad mandates” from the Biden era.
Dr. Monarez, a career federal scientist without a medical degree, had been nominated to the CDC post by former President Donald Trump and confirmed last month. In her brief tenure, she sought to reassure staff after a gunman attacked the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, killing a police officer.
Her removal comes just a week after the CDC’s staff union announced that around 600 employees had been laid off, including scientists working on infectious diseases and environmental health.
The leadership shake-up raises fresh alarm about the future of the CDC as it navigates mounting political pressure, budget cuts, and declining trust in public health institutions.
