Susan Monarez is on her way out as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and she is bringing a string of top agency officials with her.
After less than a month on the job, the first non-physician to lead the department in half a century “ran afoul” of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over changes he made to an expert panel advising on vaccine policy, according to The New York Times.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that Monarez, who was sworn in by Kennedy on July 31, was no longer at the agency in a Wednesday tweet.
“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the post read. “We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people.”
NBC News reported that at least four top agency officials will follow in Monarez’s wake after submitting resignations; those include the CDC’s chief medical officer, Dr. Debra Houry; director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis; director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Dr. Daniel Jernigan; and director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology, Dr. Jen Layden.
“I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health,” wrote Daskalakis in a resignation letter reviewed by NBC News.
Houry rebuked the spread of misinformation in her letter, writing, “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.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for comment.
Counsel for Monarez however said Wednesday: “Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.” The White House later clarified its position.
It was unclear whether Kennedy had the authority to remove Monarez from her position, given her confirmation by the Senate. However, the White House later confirmed to The New York Times that it had officially terminated her from her role.
“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” a spokesman for President Trump, Kush Desai, wrote in a statement.
“Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the C.D.C.”
Following the White House’s statement, Monarez’s legal team made a further update, claiming only the president could terminate her.
“Our client was notified tonight by a White House staffer in the personnel office that she was fired,” the statement read.
“As a presidential appointee, senate confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her. For this reason, we reject the notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position.”
President Donald Trump nominated Monarez to permanently fill the role after she served as acting director for months.
Her nomination came after the White House withdrew Trump’s first choice for the role, former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon’s name from consideration.
There were concerns Weldon would not have the votes in the Senate to be confirmed amid criticism over his views on autism and vaccines.
Monarez previously served as the deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, but had served as the acting head of the CDC since January before being confirmed for the job.
Monarez was in her first week on the job since being sworn in when a gunman fired about 180 rounds into the agency’s Atlanta headquarters on August 8, leaving a police officer dead.
Kennedy replaced some members of a vaccine advisory committee with opponents of the department’s vaccination policies, according to The Times.
Monarez was reportedly also concerned about the spread of misinformation.
Her departure was first reported by The Washington Post, quoting “multiple administration officials.”
In response to the exodus, an unnamed CDC staffer expressed concern to NBC News that the agency would suffer a brain drain.
“These guys are the best in the business. They know their stuff,” the staffer said anonymously, citing fear of reprisal. “I’m stunned how fast this all happened.”
