NextFin news, WASHINGTON — Dr. Susan Monarez, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is scheduled to testify before the Senate Health Committee next Wednesday, September 17, in Washington, D.C., following her abrupt firing last month amid a dispute with U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Monarez will appear alongside Debra Houry, a former senior CDC official who resigned in protest after Monarez’s ouster. Both have publicly criticized Kennedy, accusing him of attempting to undermine the nation’s vaccine standards and pushing policy changes that lack sufficient scientific support.
Monarez detailed her removal in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, stating she was fired after refusing to commit to endorsing recommendations made by a panel of advisers handpicked by Kennedy. The Senate Health Committee announced the hearing on Tuesday, providing Monarez a high-profile platform to address her firing on camera for the first time.
The committee also plans to hold a future hearing with HHS officials to respond to the testimonies of Monarez and Houry.
Monarez’s dismissal, which occurred less than a month into her tenure, has sparked bipartisan concern among lawmakers and led several Republican senators to question Kennedy’s vaccine agenda. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican doctor who chairs the Senate Health Committee and supported Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS Secretary, emphasized the importance of the upcoming testimony, stating, "Americans need to know what has happened and is happening at the CDC. They need to be reassured a child’s health is given priority."
The September 17 hearing is set one day before the CDC vaccine advisory committee’s next meeting. Kennedy recently removed all 17 sitting members of this panel and plans to appoint new members. The committee is expected to consider changes to vaccine recommendations for Hepatitis B, RSV, and COVID-19.
Senator Cassidy had previously called for postponing the vaccine committee meeting following Monarez’s firing, but no delay has been announced.
Last week, Kennedy testified before the Senate Finance Committee, denying that he fired Monarez for refusing to approve vaccine policy changes and calling her a liar. He claimed he requested her resignation after she told him she was not trustworthy. Kennedy and other Trump administration officials have cited Monarez’s ouster as evidence that the CDC requires a broader overhaul.
In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Kennedy said, "The problem with CDC is it was supporting dogma all through COVID, Americans saw it for the first time. I’ve been watching for 20 years. We need a CDC director who’s going to follow his science, and that’s what we’re going to do."
Monarez’s legal team rejected Kennedy’s statements as "false, and at times, patently ridiculous," and offered to have Monarez testify under oath.
The hearing will take place in Washington, D.C., providing a rare opportunity for Monarez to publicly address the circumstances of her firing and the ongoing vaccine policy dispute at the CDC.
Source: KCRA, CNN, The Washington Post, WENY News
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