Just as less than a month had passed since the Senate confirmed her the role, Monares’ ouster was followed by resignations from three other CDC staff in protest of Kennedy’s leader.
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WASHINGTON – The White House said it fired Susan Monares, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after she refused to step down from the post amid policy discrepancies with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The late confirmed termination by the White House on August 27 came after the lawyer refused to resign or receive notice of her dismissal, even after HHS announced that Monares was no longer the CDC director.
Less than a month after the Senate confirmed her role was followed by resignations from three other CDC staff in protest of Kennedy’s leadership, including vaccine instructions.
“Kennedy and the HHS secretary have turned their attention to weaponizing public health for political interests and putting the lives of millions of Americans at risk,” Monales’ lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said in a statement, adding that their clients “rejected unscientific and reckless instructions and rejected health experts who extinguished the fire.”
The White House responded in a statement shortly afterwards.
“Susan Monales doesn’t match the president’s agenda to make America healthy again, as her lawyer’s statements are abundantly revealed,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “The White House fired Monales from his position at the CDC after Susan Monales refused to resign despite informing HHS’s leadership that he intended to do so.”
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, reported that Monarez was pushing for helping change in the CDC’s vaccine policy, the Washington Post and the New York Times both cited multiple anonymous sources. After she refused, Kennedy and White House officials instructed her to resign or be fired, sources told USA Today.
Without specifying the reason for Monares’ exit, HHS said in a previous statement that he “thank you for your dedication to the Americans.” HHS did not respond to requests from USA Today seeking additional information.
On August 27th, resignations followed from CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, National Vaccination and Respiratory Disease Director Demetre Daskalakis, and National Emerging and Human and Beast Combined Infectious Disease Director Daniel Jernigan.
In his resignation letter, Daskarakis said the recent changes to the CDC’s adult and child vaccination schedule “threatening the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
“We cannot provide services in an environment that does not reflect scientific reality and treats the CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that are designed to hurt rather than improve the health of our people,” Daskalakis said.
He added: “It is unacceptable to serve in an organization that has not been given the opportunity to discuss the importance of scientific and public health published in the name of the CDC.”
Monares, a federal scientist, was confirmed by the Senate on July 29 to lead the CDC after President Donald Trump nominated at the beginning of the year. She was sworn by Kennedy on July 31st.
Her departure from her agency follows a shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta at the beginning of the month.
Monales was the second candidate for the Trump administration’s role. In March, the president retracted the nomination of former Republican lawmaker and vaccine critic, Dave Weldon, a ally of Kennedy, hours before the scheduled confirmation hearing.
Since being appointed to the US Top Health Official, Kennedy has targeted vaccine policies and in May retracted federal recommendations on covid shots for pregnant women and healthy children.
He fired all members of the CDC’s Expert Vaccine Advisory Panel in June.
Kennedy made a major decision on the vaccine in the absence of the CDC director, and Monares waited for confirmation and continued on. Her departure comes on the same day Kennedy announced the change in eligibility for the Covid vaccine.
Contribution: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison with X @joeygarrison.
