NextFin news, WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, the White House fired Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), less than a month after she was sworn in, following her refusal to resign amid pressure to change vaccine policies, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Monarez's dismissal triggered the resignation of three other senior CDC officials, including Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Demetre Daskalakis, and National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Director Daniel Jernigan. These officials cited concerns over the "ongoing weaponizing of public health" and attacks on science in their resignation letters, which Reuters reviewed.
The White House spokesman Kush Desai stated that Monarez was "not aligned with the President's agenda of Making America Healthy Again" and that since she refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent, the White House terminated her position with the CDC.
Monarez's lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, denied that she had resigned or been fired, stating she was targeted for refusing to support "unscientific directives" and for protecting public health over political agendas. They emphasized that Monarez, a person devoted to science, would not resign.
Monarez was confirmed by the Senate in late July and was the first CDC director to undergo Senate confirmation following a 2023 law. Her short tenure included a shooting incident on the CDC campus, significant changes to vaccine policies, and workforce layoffs.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has implemented sweeping changes to vaccine policies, including withdrawing federal recommendations for COVID-19 shots for pregnant women and healthy children and firing the CDC's expert vaccine advisory panel, replacing it with hand-picked advisers, some of whom oppose COVID-19 vaccines.
In his resignation letter, Daskalakis wrote, "I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health," warning that the agency's policies risk returning the U.S. to a pre-vaccine era. Houry expressed concern about censorship and political interference in CDC science, while Jernigan resigned shortly after the CDC reported the first U.S. human case of screwworm linked to an outbreak in Central America.
The CDC has also faced budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration, including a nearly $3.6 billion reduction in the 2026 budget proposal and layoffs of thousands of employees earlier in 2025.
The White House and HHS did not provide detailed reasons for Monarez's departure or the other resignations. The agency's official X account posted a statement thanking Monarez for her service.
The turmoil at the CDC has raised alarms among public health experts about the agency's ability to respond to health challenges amid political interference and leadership instability.
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