Most Republican lawmakers have stayed quiet about the shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but one of them decided to speak out this weekend. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has sometimes opposed Trump but also sided with him on key votes, took to social media Saturday to say she was alarmed by the ouster of CDC Director Susan Monarez less than a month into her tenure.
“The firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez just a month after her confirmation, along with the departure of other high-level disease experts the day after her termination, raises considerable questions about what is happening within the agency,” Murkowski wrote on X. “Americans must be able to fully trust that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rigorously adheres to science-based and data-driven principles when issuing policy directives.”
Related: CDC Director Susan Monarez Ousted After Clash With RFK Jr As Top Officials Resign In Protest
Her comments stood out because most Republicans have avoided addressing the turmoil at the CDC, even as it has dominated health policy conversations in Washington. Monarez’s firing comes during a moment of heightened scrutiny for the agency and follows weeks of internal tension that saw other senior staff members walk out in protest.
Murkowski went a step further, warning that the decision to remove Monarez appeared to reflect a political calculation rather than a scientific one. “The removal of the director after such a short tenure appears to be evidence that politics are taking precedence over policy,” she wrote, a statement that seemed aimed not just at the CDC’s leadership but at the White House itself.
For Murkowski, the issue is not simply about one position but about the credibility of one of America’s leading public health institutions. She argued that public confidence in the CDC depends on the perception that decisions are rooted in evidence, not political expediency. Her call for transparency comes as lawmakers across the aisle face growing pressure to clarify how the agency is functioning and whether its independence is being undermined.
The senator made clear that she supports a formal investigation. “I fully support HELP Chairman Cassidy’s call for congressional oversight and look forward to participating in the committee’s work,” she wrote, signaling that hearings could be on the horizon. Oversight by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee could open the door to more public revelations about what led to Monarez’s removal and the subsequent departures of senior disease experts.
The firing itself has rattled the agency, with critics warning it risks further weakening public trust in government health advice at a time when Americans are already divided. For many observers, the ouster of Monarez after only a few weeks highlights the vulnerability of agencies that are meant to operate independently of political influence but are increasingly caught in partisan battles.
Murkowski’s choice to speak out puts her once again in the position of an occasional Republican dissenter, echoing past moments when she has broken with her party to call for accountability. Her remarks may not shift the silence of most GOP lawmakers, but they highlight a growing unease about the politicization of health policy and signal that the issue could soon draw more attention in Congress.
For now, Murkowski’s words mark a rare moment of pushback from within her party, underscoring the high stakes of the CDC shakeup and the questions that remain unanswered about why its new director was pushed out so quickly.
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