Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
The White House has said it has fired the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following her refusal to step down, in the Trump administration’s latest confrontation with the country’s public institutions.
Lawyers for Susan Monarez, who was confirmed as CDC director less than a month ago, had written on the X social media site earlier on Wednesday that she “will not resign”.
They added that the White House had not notified her of her firing, after the Department of Health and Human Services previously said she was no longer head of the CDC. The agency is part of the department.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said late on Wednesday evening: “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign, despite informing HHS [health and human services] leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”
The fight over Monarez’s position comes days after President Donald Trump attempted to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and as the administration embarks on a sweeping overhaul of US healthcare agencies under HHS secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic.
Monarez’s lawyers on Wednesday accused Kennedy and the Trump administration of “weaponising public health for political gain”.
Three other CDC officials resigned on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. They included the CDC’s chief medical officer, Debra Houry, Demetre Daskalakis, the head of its immunisation division, as well as Daniel Jernigan, a top infectious disease official.
“I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health,” Daskalakis said on X.
When Monarez was sworn in as CDC director on July 29, Kennedy praised her “unimpeachable scientific credentials”. Her role as CDC director includes identifying health threats, ranging from diseases to poisonings.
Earlier this week, Trump claimed he had fired Fed governor Cook, alleging she had engaged in mortgage fraud, in a move that raised concerns about the US central bank’s independence.
Cook, who denies the allegations, has refused to leave her post and has vowed to sue the administration, claiming the president has no authority to dismiss her. The clash is likely to head to the Supreme Court.
Both Cook and Monarez are represented by lawyer Abbe Lowell, who has previously defended former president Joe Biden’s son Hunter and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
At her Senate confirmation hearing, Monarez repeatedly defended Kennedy. Asked if she had any disagreements with him, she said: “[He] is doing the important work of leading a complex agency. He is supporting preventing chronic diseases.”
The CDC plays an important role in overseeing vaccines, and Kennedy is sceptical about their benefits. The CDC’s website still recommends a Covid-19 vaccine “for most adults ages 18 and older”.
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration authorised the latest Covid-19 shots for adults over the age of 65 and others “with at least one underlying condition” that puts them at higher risk.
Additional reporting by James Politi in Washington
Read the full article here
