Within a month of being appointed as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez was fired after she refused to resign, according to a report by The New York Times. The dismissal followed escalating tensions with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The New York Times, citing Monarez’s lawyers, reported she received an email from Kush Desai, a spokesman for President Donald Trump, stating that she had been terminated. Desai wrote, “As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.”
The message further stated: “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.”
Monarez’s lawyers countered that her removal represented “the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicisation of science. The attack on Dr. Monarez is a warning to every American: Our evidence-based systems are being undermined from within.”
The Department of Health and Human Services later announced on X that Monarez was “no longer” CDC director, thanking her for her service and affirming Secretary Kennedy’s confidence in his team at CDC.
In a separate statement, Monarez’s lawyers said, “She 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.” They accused Kennedy of “weaponising public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk.”
According to The New York Times, Monarez and Kennedy clashed over vaccine policy, an internal division that spilled into public view this week. The dismissal adds to rising concerns about political influence over federal health agencies.
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