The nation’s top public health agency was thrown into limbo Wednesday evening when the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was abruptly fired, leaving her lawyers to insist she remain in the position. Four other top CDC officials resigned, with one of them claiming in a strongly worded statement that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. implements the “weaponization of public health” from the government.
A new acting director for the CDC was named Thursday evening, even though the previous director has not yet publicly acknowledged that her term has ended.
The announcements, legal challenges and accusations came so quickly that it can be difficult to keep track of it all. Here’s a look at what happened, where things stand now, and where they could go from here.
What happened?
On Wednesday evening, HHS announced via social media that CDC Director Susan Monarez, who was sworn in less than a month ago, will no longer lead the agency.
Less than two hours later, Monarez’s lawyers responded by saying that she had not, in fact, been fired and would also refuse to resign. They argued that while the CDC falls under his purview as HHS secretary, Kennedy does not have the authority to fire her. Only President Trump has that power, they said.
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to endorse unscientific, reckless guidelines and fire dedicated health experts, she chose to protect the public over serving a political agenda, which is why she has been targeted,” Monarez’s lawyers wrote in a statement.
The White House released its own statement late Wednesday night saying Monorez had been released because she was “not aligned with the president’s agenda to make America whole again.” Monarez’s lawyers said that was still not enough because it came from a White House spokesperson, not Trump himself.
“As a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed official, only the president himself can fire her,” Mark Zaid, one of Monarez’s attorneys, wrote on social media.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday morning that Trump himself had fired Monarez, but Zaid said that was still not enough.
“[Leavitt] can say whatever she wants. … But it doesn’t make her comments factually true, even if they come from a White House podium,” he wrote on social media.
Four other top CDC officials left the agency Wednesday evening amid frustration with the agency’s leadership under RFK.
“I can no longer fulfill this role due to the continued weaponization of public health,” Demetre Daskalakis, who headed the center overseeing national vaccination strategies, wrote in an email to colleagues shared with the media.
CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, Public Health Data Director Jennifer Layden and National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Daniel Jernigan also resigned.
During an interview on Fox News on Thursday morning, Kennedy said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on personnel issues. But he heavily criticized the CDC, arguing that the agency is “in trouble” and adding that “it could be that some people shouldn’t work there anymore.”
Kennedy specifically called out the CDC’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic.
“President Trump has very, very ambitious expectations for CDC right now, and CDC has problems,” he said. “We saw the misinformation coming out of COVID. They got the testing wrong. They got the social distancing, the masks, the school closures that have caused so much harm to the American people today.”
Trump has not yet publicly commented on Monarez’s firing, which would likely end uncertainty about her status.
However, HHS is proceeding as if the case has been resolved. Jim O’Neill, Kennedy’s top deputy at the department, was named acting director of the CDC on Thursday evening. O’Neill, a former health official turned Silicon Valley investor, has also been a frequent critic of the CDC during the pandemic, though he described himself as “very strongly pro-vaccine” during a confirmation hearing for his previous post in May.
How did we get here?
Kennedy was a controversial choice to lead HHS because of his long history of health claims that run counter to the scientific consensus, especially when it comes to the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. He was confirmed by a narrow margin in the Senate, with all Democrats voting against his nomination and all but one Republican voting in favor.
Earlier this year, Kennedy announced mass layoffs within HHS, including hundreds of layoffs at the CDC. During his tenure, he realigned much of the department around his Make America Healthy Again agenda, which centers on solutions to chronic diseases that often run counter to medical consensus. He also fired all members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory board and replaced them with allies with a history of vaccine skepticism, and brought in a researcher whose work was widely criticized by medical experts to lead an investigation into the causes of autism.
Monarez, a career infectious disease researcher, was Trump’s second choice for CDC director. She was chosen after Trump’s first nominee, Dave Weldon, withdrew over apparent concerns that Weldon could not get enough votes in the Senate to be confirmed because of his own past comments on vaccines.
Monarez reportedly clashed with Kennedy during her short tenure as CDC director. Tensions within the agency escalated earlier this month after a gunman — motivated by extreme anti-vaccine beliefs — opened fire at the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta, destroying hundreds of windows and killing a police officer. In the wake of the attack, more than 750 HHS employees published a letter to Kennedy asking him to stop spreading vaccine misinformation. Monarez had previously sent a note to CDC officials lamenting the “deadly consequences” of vaccine conspiracies, though she did not directly blame Kennedy.
The situation came to a head Wednesday, hours after the Food and Drug Administration announced new guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines that make it harder for adults under 65 without an underlying medical condition to access the shots.
What happens next?
Trump could formally end Monarez’s tenure at the CDC at any time by firing her personally.
However, the scandal may not end when Monarez is ultimately ousted. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who heads the Senate committee that handles health issues, said the high-profile departure at the CDC requires congressional oversight.
Cassidy also called for postponing an upcoming HHS vaccine advisory committee meeting until the departed CDC staffers’ allegations are fully investigated.
“These decisions have a direct impact on the health of children and the meeting should not take place until significant supervision has been exercised,” he wrote in a statement. “If the meeting proceeds, all recommendations must be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership.”
A permanent director for the CDC will also need to be appointed. It is unclear whether O’Neill, who is expected to retain his job at HHS while serving as acting director, will be nominated to fill the position long-term. Any new director would have to be confirmed by the Senate.
