Former CDC director refused to be RFK Jr.’s ‘rubber stamp,’ so she got fired for acting ‘maliciously to undermine’ the president

Former CDC Director Susan Monarez is about to tell lawmakers that she was fired because she refused to be a “rubber stamp” for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In her prepared testimony, which was obtained by The New York Times, she’ll give a detailed account of her ouster last month, saying she was removed “for holding the line on scientific integrity.”

Monarez’s testimony paints a picture of a relationship that began to sour shortly after Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Vaccine Practices back in June. It sounds like she really tried to stand her ground for the sake of the CDC’s mission, and it cost her the job.

It seems like Monarez and Kennedy’s relationship took a serious turn for the worse early last month. Monarez says she found out from news reports on August 2 that experts who were serving as liaisons to the vaccine panel had been removed from its working groups. This raised concerns that the panel might change the childhood vaccine schedule at a meeting on Thursday and Friday, “potentially without credible supporting data.” This is a big deal, and it’s awful for anyone who trusts the CDC to be a pillar of public health.

Former CDC director claims she wouldn’t be the yes woman for RFK Jr.

The pressure seems to have ramped up on August 19, when Monarez says she “received a directive” from Kennedy’s office. This directive instructed her that she needed approval from the president’s political appointees before she could make any policy or personnel decisions. The timing is pretty shocking, as this came less than two weeks after a shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

Two days after that, she was told to return to Washington immediately, which would have meant missing a memorial for the police officer killed in the shooting— “something I was not willing to do,” she said. It sounds like a total power play to me.

Monarez claims that on the morning of August 25, back in Washington, Kennedy made some pretty intense demands. He insisted that she “commit in advance to approving every recommendation by the advisory panel ‘regardless of the scientific evidence'” and also directed her to “dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause.” When she told him that if he couldn’t trust her, he could fire her, he said he had already spoken with the White House several times about her removal.

The White House announced her firing two days later. Monarez’s lawyers initially said the firing was illegal, arguing that only President Trump, who appointed her, had the authority to remove her. The White House eventually announced her firing, and Kennedy installed his chief deputy, Jim O’Neill, as the acting director. To be fair, President Trump has never spoken publicly about the move, but many in the CDC have left or been vocal about RFK’s lack of experience.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, Andrew G. Nixon, had a totally conflicting account. He said Monarez’s remarks were “factually inaccurate and omitted details.” He claims she was “tasked with returning the CDC to its core mission after decades of bureaucratic inertia, politicized science and mission creep corroded its purpose and squandered public trust.” According to Nixon, she “acted maliciously to undermine the president’s agenda and was fired as a result.”