CDC director pushed out, and her lawyers say she resisted 'reckless directives'

Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than a month after taking the post, the Department of Health & Human Services said Wednesday.

Just a few hours after that remarkable announcement, her attorneys said Monarez is not resigning and hasn’t received formal notice of her termination from the White House. Her lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, issued a statement that Monarez was being pressured to act against the public interest.

“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” Zaid said on X. “For that, she has been targeted."

Her lawyers also said "as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.”

The White House says it has terminated Monarez, saying she is "not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” The Washington Post reported.

Early Wednesday evening, the health department posted a statement on X saying that the new CDC director is out.

“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people. @SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad,” the agency said.

The Washington Post first reported the health department’s push to oust Monarez, and reported that she objected to changes in federal vaccine policy. The Post also reported that three other top CDC officials were stepping down from the agencies.

The move comes amid Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s sweeping changes to the health department. A longtime critic of vaccine safety, Kennedy has also led changes in vaccine policy that have drawn widespread criticism from health officials, including ending mRNA vaccine projects, ousting the members of a key vaccine advisory panel, and changing COVID-19 vaccine guidance.

The health department announced approval of new COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday, but with some restrictions that could make it harder for some younger adults and kids to get the vaccines, critics said. The American Academy of Pediatrics criticized the changes.

Monarez received Senate confirmation July 29, and the health department issued its statement of her removal four weeks later. Monarez had served as the CDC’s acting director since January.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America issued a statement Wednesday night saying it’s alarmed by the move to oust Monarez.

“SHEA is deeply disappointed by the sudden departure of the CDC Director so soon after her confirmation, at a time when the agency most needs stability and authority to carry out its vital mission of protecting the health and safety of all Americans,” the group said. “The United States stands at a critical crossroads, where strong, trusted public health leadership is essential to restoring confidence through evidence-based practices and guidance.”

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said the attempt to get rid of Monarez is another sign of Kennedy's "reckless mismanagement." Benjamin called for Kennedy's removal.

"His tenure has been marked by chaos, disorganization, and a blatant disregard for science and evidence-based public health," Benjamin said in a statement Wednesday night. "Pushing Dr. Monarez out underscores his administrative incompetence and his disdain for the expertise that the public and our public health agencies rely on."

The attorneys for Monarez said the issue is not just about her leading the CDC.

“It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science,” her attorneys wrote. “The attack on Dr. Monarez is a warning to every American: our evidence-based systems are being undermined from within.”

The turmoil atop the CDC also comes just weeks after a gunman fired more than 500 rounds onto the CDC's main campus in Atlanta, killing a police officer.

Hundreds of current and former HHS staffers signed a letter last week saying that the attack reflects growing mistrust in public institutions, NPR reported. They said Kennedy “is complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”

Monarez was President Trump’s second nominee to lead the CDC. She was tapped after the White House withdrew the nomination of Dave Weldon, MD, a physician and former congressman, when it was clear he lacked support.

Some health leaders said Monarez had the potential to be an effective CDC director, if given the clout needed to lead the agency.

Benjamin told Chief Healthcare Executive® in March that Monarez is regarded as smart and experienced. “She could be a very good CDC director,” he said at the time.

Monarez has a PhD in microbiology and immunology and has experience in infectious diseases. She served as deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, the federal agency created by former President Biden.