The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is facing a leadership crisis after a string of top officials resigned Wednesday night following the removal of Acting Director Susan Monarez. The shake-up comes amid intensifying conflict between Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the agency.
Monarez, who was nominated by Donald Trump and sworn in by Kennedy just last month, was abruptly ousted by the Department of Health and Human Services. Her lawyers quickly disputed the move, saying she had not resigned and could only be removed directly by the president.
“Our client was notified tonight by a White House staffer in the personnel office that she was fired,” read a statement from attorneys Mark S. Zaid and Abbe Lowell. “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.”
The White House countered, confirming Monarez’s termination. “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.,” spokesman Kush Desai said.
Her removal triggered immediate fallout inside the agency. At least four senior leaders resigned in protest, including Dr. Debra Houry, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, and Dr. Jen Layden. In their resignations, several accused Kennedy of sidelining science and promoting health misinformation, according to The New York Times.
Daskalakis was especially blunt, warning, “Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve, not a political voting bloc.” His resignation letter condemned what he described as the manipulation of data and the appointment of vaccine skeptics to critical roles, as reported by the Daily Beast
“Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people,” he wrote.
Houry echoed those concerns, pointing to the rise of misinformation and its link to vaccine-preventable diseases, including the highest number of U.S. measles cases in three decades. Monarez’s legal team accused Kennedy of “weaponizing public health for political gain,” while warning his policies “put millions of American lives at risk.”
The resignations follow a deadly shooting at CDC headquarters earlier this month, adding further strain to the agency. Daskalakis connected the attack to rhetoric targeting vaccines, writing, “I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.”
With key leadership positions now vacant, the turmoil has left the CDC’s future direction uncertain at a critical moment for U.S. public health.