The CDC director was removed on August 27th because it didn’t align with Kennedy’s desire to reduce vaccinations.
The CDC director has been banished for a vaccine policy conflict with RFK Jr.
CDC Director Susan Monales was expelled after a different vaccine policy with HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The day after Susan Monales, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was fired by the White House after clashing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who assaulted the agency’s “priorities.”
“There’s a problem with the CDC,” he said in an interview with Fox & Friends on August 28th.
With views on vaccines at odds with the overwhelming majority of doctors, Kennedy opposed what the agency’s website lists as the biggest advancement in medicine, including vaccines.
“One of them is abortion. The other is fluorination and the other is a vaccine,” he said. “So we need to look at the agency’s priorities. If it’s really deep and deeply embedded, I’d say it’s dishonorable to the agency.”
Kennedy advocates for the fluorination curb of public drinking water as part of what he calls “to health again.” State such as Utah and Florida have banned fluoride in public drinking water, but scientists and dental health groups have warned that Kennedy’s plans are disastrous for public health.
The CDC website lists family planning rather than abortion. It also states that “consideration of cigarettes as a health hazard.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai was ruled out in a statement that Monares, who took only weeks in her position, “is not consistent with the president’s agenda to make America healthy again.”
Kennedy declined to comment on her firing during the interview.
Monares’ expulsion was followed by resignations from three other CDC staff in protest against Kennedy’s leader. In June, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the committee, advising the CDC on vaccine safety, replacing them with new members.
Monares’ lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, accused Kennedy and “weaponize public health for political interests and risk the lives of millions of Americans.”
They said she was targeted because she “refused to shoot scientific and reckless instructions and dedicated medical professionals.”
Contribution: Joey Garrison
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA Today. x You can follow her at @swapnavenugopal