Chaos Continues at CDC
Besser told Politico, “She said that there were two things she would never do in the job,” Besser said. “She said she was asked to do both of those, one in terms of firing her leadership, who are talented civil servants like herself, and the other was to rubber stamp [vaccine] recommendations that flew in the face of science, and she was not going to do either of those things.”
This prompted a public standoff later this week as Monarez refused to resign. HHS announced on X that she was “no longer” serving as CDC director. However, Monarez was the first CDC director to require Senate confirmation after nomination under a 2023 law. As her lawyer explained, this made her both a presidential appointee and Senate confirmed officer, meaning only the president had the ability to fire her.
Following this, Monarez’s lawyers disputed HHS’ claim she was no longer CDC director, saying that Monarez “has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.”
They also said, “It 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.”
The White House later announced that President Trump has fired Monarez, and that a replacement nominee will be announced soon. Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill has been selected to serve as acting CDC director, according to CBS News.
In response to this latest round of chaos, multiple senior officials at CDC resigned in protest. Two of those, Debra Houry and Demetre Daskalakis, resigned on Wednesday, hours after the White House announced Monarez had been fired. Houry was CDC’s Chief Science and Medical Officer, while Daskalakis led the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Both indicated they had become increasingly concerned about how vaccine policy is being handled, pointing to preparations being made for the upcoming ACIP meeting.
Houry said they feared “…some decisions had been made before there was even the data or the science to support those. We are scientists, and that was concerning to us.” Meanwhile, Daskalakis said he was “very concerned that there’s going to be an attempt to re-litigate vaccines that have already had clear recommendations with science that has been vetted. If you can’t attack access, then why not attack trust? And that’s what I think the playbook is.”
Daskalakis specifically cited the document announcing the creation of the COVID-19 Immunization Workgroup in his resignation.
Daniel Jernigan, former Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Jennifer Layden, former Director of the Office of Public Health Data, also resigned in response to this latest row. Three of the four were escorted out of CDC’s main campus by security guards before a planned send-off by agency staff could be held.
The resignation of these four leaders prompted Sen. Bill Cassidy, who cast a pivotal vote to confirm RFK Jr., to call for a delay in the upcoming ACIP meeting. In a statement, Cassidy said, “These decisions directly impact children’s health and the meeting should not occur until significant oversight has been conducted.”
Further Reading:
- “5 Big Collisions Between RFK Jr. and CDC Scientists Before Director was Fired,” David Ovalle and Victoria Bisset, The Washington Post
- “‘It Feels Like the CDC Is Over,’” Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic
- “Inside the C.D.C., a Growing Sense of Despair,” Apoorva Mandavailli, The New York Times
- “As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered,” Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News
- “Trump’s Global Health Cuts Upend CDC’s Malaria Work,” Sophie Gardner and Kelly Hooper, Politico
- “Former CDC Director William Foege: How Public Health Can Fight Back in a Time of Dangerous Nonsense,” William Foege, STAT News
- “How Vaccine Policy, Including for Coronavirus, Has Changed Under RFK Jr.,” Lena H. Sun, Lauren Weber, and Rachel Roubein, The Washington Post
- “The ‘Strangling Angel’ Returns? RFK Jr.’s Policies Could Foster a Resurgence of Now-Rare Diseases,” Jennifer Herricks, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- “Blue States That Sued Kept Most CDC Grants, While Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks,” Henry Larweh, Rachana Pradhan, and Rae Ellen Bichell, KFF Health News
- “The CDC Quietly Scaled Back a Surveillance Program for Foodborne Illnesses,” Aria Bendix, NBC News
