White House Confirms CDC Director Susan Monarez’s Ouster

Topline

The White House announced late on Wednesday that it has officially fired Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hours after her lawyers issued a combative statement disputing her removal by the Health and Human Services Department and saying she has not resigned.

The HHS announced Monarez’s removal Wednesday evening. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Earlier on Wednesday, the HHS said Monarez is “no longer” the CDC’s director, thanking her for her “dedicated service to the American people.”

Mark S. Zaid, an attorney for Monarez, said in a statement the ditrector “has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired.”

Zaid alleged Monarez “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts she chose” to protect “the public over serving a political agenda,” adding Monarez was “targeted” for her actions.

The White House officially announced Monarez’s firing shortly after the lawyer’s statement and White House spokesperson Kush Desai told various outlets “As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.”

Desai then added: “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the C.D.C.”

Monarez was confirmed by the Senate on July 29 and sworn in as CDC director on July 31, when Kennedy said in a statement he had “full confidence in her ability to restore the CDC’s role as the most trusted authority in public health.”

Prior to her swearing in, Monarez was serving as the acting director of the CDC since President Donald Trump’s second term began and was the first CDC director since 1953 to not be a medical doctor.

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What Do We Know About Monarez’s Clash With Rfk Jr.?

The HHS did not share an official reason for Monarez’s departure initially, but The New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the events, that the move stemmed from her clash with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. According to the Times, Monarez was summoned to Kennedy’s office on Monday and the Health Secretary demanded that she should resign. After her refusal to do so Kennedy then demanded that she should fire the agency’s top leadership by the end of this week.

What We Don’t Know

Who will become the CDC’s next acting director. The agency’s chief medical officer, Debra Houry, is also leaving the agency, STAT News reported, citing an email Houry sent to CDC staff in which she said “the ongoing changes prevent me from continuing in my job as a leader of the agency.” Houry added science should “never be censored or subject to political interpretations.” Forbes has reached out to HHS for comment on Monarez’s potential replacement.

Tangent

Jennifer Layden, another top-ranking CDC official, who oversees the agency’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, is also leaving the agency, according to Politico. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who served as head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and Dr. Daniel Jernigan

Key Background

The role of CDC director has been in flux since Trump took office. While Monarez served as acting director, the White House withdrew Trump’s nomination of vaccine skeptic and former Florida congressman Dave Weldon for the director role. CBS cited an unnamed administration official who said it became clear Weldon did not have the support needed to receive Senate confirmation. The CDC, which was recently targeted in an attack that resulted in hundreds of bullets being shot at its Atlanta headquarters, has undergone significant changes since Kennedy, who is also a vaccine skeptic, became health secretary. Following the shooting, which was carried out by a man who believed the COVID-19 vaccine made him ill, over 700 HHS workers sent letters to Kennedy urging him to publicly condemn misleading claims about vaccines. The agency recently issued termination notices to 600 employees, including 100 people who work in violence prevention.