Susan Monarez is out as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and her sudden departure is taking several of the agency’s top officials with her.
Monarez, the first non-physician to lead the CDC in 50 years, had been sworn in less than a month ago by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But according to The New York Times, she quickly “ran afoul” of Kennedy over changes he made to a vaccine policy advisory panel.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the move bluntly in a social media post: “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people.”
Her exit triggered a wave of resignations among senior staff. NBC News reported that at least four high-ranking officials submitted letters, including Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Daniel Jernigan of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Jen Layden of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology.
Daskalakis blasted the current climate in his resignation letter, writing, “I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health.” Houry condemned the impact of misinformation, saying, “Recently, the overstating of risks [of vaccines] and the rise of misinformation have cost lives, as demonstrated by the highest number of US measles cases in 30 years and the violent attack on our agency.”
Monarez’s legal team, however, said she had not resigned and had not been formally notified by the White House that she was fired. “As a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign,” her counsel insisted.
The situation turned messier when the White House weighed in. Spokesman Kush Desai said Monarez had been terminated, claiming, “Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.” He added that since she refused to resign after telling HHS leadership she intended to, the White House removed her.
Monarez’s attorneys fired back, saying only the president himself could legally remove her since she was a Senate-confirmed appointee. “We reject the notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director,” they said, adding they had informed the White House Counsel of their position.
President Trump nominated Monarez earlier this year to serve permanently after she spent months as acting director. His first nominee, former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon, was pulled after concerns he lacked Senate support due to his controversial views on vaccines and autism.
Monarez had previously worked as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health before taking on the CDC role. Her brief tenure was marred by turmoil almost immediately, including a gunman’s attack on CDC headquarters in Atlanta earlier this month that left a police officer dead.
Her departure, first reported by The Washington Post, has rattled staff inside the agency. One longtime CDC employee told NBC News, “These guys are the best in the business. They know their stuff. I’m stunned how fast this all happened.”