Longtime government scientist Susan Monarez is refusing to step down as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced she had been removed less than a month into the job.
Attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, who represent Monarez, said she “has neither resigned nor yet been fired.”
They accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of politicizing public health and targeting Monarez for rejecting directives she considered unscientific.
Dispute Over Vaccines
According to The Washington Post, HHS officials pressured Monarez to rescind approvals for certain COVID-19 vaccines.
When she did not commit, she was reportedly told to resign or face removal. Sources said she then sought help from Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate’s top health committee, which further inflamed tensions with Kennedy.
In a statement posted on X, HHS said: “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.
Secretary Kennedy has full confidence in his team at the CDC who