The White House announced on Wednesday that it had fired Susan Monarez less than a month after she was sworn in as the new director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The move reportedly came after she refused to step down over vaccine policy disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kush Desai, a spokesman for President Trump, said in a statement that Monarez was “not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again."
"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 CDC,” Desai added.
The clash between Mr. Kennedy and Dr. Monarez, which had been brewing for days, burst into public view on Wednesday. That afternoon, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on X that Dr. Monarez was “no longer” director of the C.D.C.
Without elaborating, the agency thanked her for “her dedicated service to the American people,” adding that Mr. Kennedy “has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”
Hours later, [her attorneys] Mr. [Abbe] Lowell and Mr. [Mark] Zaid disputed the department’s account, saying 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.” (NYT)
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. @SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious…
— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) August 27, 2025
The lawyers argued Monarez was "targeted" because she "refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts," choosing instead to protect "the public over serving a political agenda."
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On social media, Zaid rejected the termination, saying it could only legitimately be done by the president himself.
"As a presidential appointee, senate confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her," he said. "For this reason, we reject notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position."
Monarez's ouster wasn't the only news out of the CDC on Wednesday. Four other high-level officials at the agency quit, resignations that came amid an FDA decision to put further restrictions on updated Covid vaccines.
Good riddance to these extremists at CDC.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 28, 2025
There is NO medical evidence that the COVID vaccine changes transmission or health outcome for healthy children.
Senior CDC officials quit after director ousted by RFK Jr. https://t.co/Jxtw9MHcLM
LOL bye-bye pic.twitter.com/pALiCnuePZ
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 28, 2025
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