New CDC Director Is Out Already

One month after she was confirmed by the Senate, the Trump administration announced Wednesday that Susan Monarez has been removed as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—a brief tenure that included a fatal attack on the agency's Atlanta campus. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made a series of moves involving the CDC, and Monarez evidently clashed with him, including over his policy on COVID shots and his changes to the panel of experts who offer advice on vaccine policy, the New York Times reports. On Wednesday evening, Monarez's lawyers said she hadn't been told she's been fired, and other senior CDC officials resigned, per the AP.

• Administration announcement: "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 Department of Health and Human Services posted on its X account, per the Hill. "@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." No reason for the removal was given.
• Monarez's lawyers respond: "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," her attorneys wrote. They said she had not resigned or been told she was fired. The statement added that the removal "is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science. The attack on Dr. Monarez is a warning to every American: our evidence-based systems are being undermined from within."

• Resigned: At least three top CDC officials turned in their resignations, per the AP. They include Dr. Debra Houry, the deputy director; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, head of the agency's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, head of its National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

• Second choice: Monarez, who was confirmed by the Senate in July, was picked by President Trump after he withdrew the nomination of Dave Weldon. The former GOP congressman had been criticized for his views on vaccines and autism by Republicans.
• Confrontations with Kennedy: The Washington Post reports that Kennedy and others in the Trump administration repeatedly pressed Monarez, as recently as Monday, about whether she would support dropping existing approvals for coronavirus vaccines. Monarez, a scientist, reportedly would not agree to support changes to the coronavirus vaccine policy without consulting her advisers. When Monarez resisted Kennedy's demands, the administration gave her the choice of resigning or being fired, insiders told the Post. New restrictions on COVID shots were announced Wednesday.