CHAOS AT CDC
Robert Davis
August 27, 2025 7:43PM ET
RAW STORY
The exterior of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) main campus in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer
Lawyers who represent the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's director responded on Wednesday to allegations that their client had been fired from her job.
Earlier in the day, the Department of Health and Human Services posted on X saying that Dr. Susan Monarez was "no longer" CDC director. The Washington Post followed up on the post and reported that Monarez was removed because she refused to change the CDC's vaccine standards without consulting advisors.
Attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, who represent Monarez, replied to the news in a statement posted on social media.
"First, it was the independent advisory committees and career experts," the joint statement reads. "Then it was the dismissal of seasoned scientists. Now, Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk."
"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," the statement continued. "For that, she has been targeted."
"Dr. Monarez 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," it adds
Top CDC scientists resign after Trump fires agency head: report
Robert Davis
August 27, 2025
FILE PHOTO: A sign sits as the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pockmarked by bullet holes in the background, following a deadly shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. August 9, 2025. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo
Multiple scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted their resignations on Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump fired the recently confirmed CDC director.
The Department of Health and Human Services posted on its official X account that Susan Monarez is "no longer director" of the agency, which happened about one month after she was confirmed for the job. The Washington Post reported that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked Monarez to leave because she would not change the agency's vaccine policies.
Ali Rogan, journalist for PBS NewsHour, reported on X that three other high-ranking scientists from the agency also resigned, and more departures could follow.
The other departing scientists are Dan Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Deb Houry, the agency's chief medical officer; and Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
'Wow': CDC director's shock ouster sparks internet frenzy and fears of 'big net negative'
Robert Davis
August 27, 2025
Robert Davis
August 27, 2025
RAW STORY
FILE PHOTO: A sign sits as the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pockmarked by bullet holes in the background, following a deadly shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. August 9, 2025. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo
Multiple scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted their resignations on Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump fired the recently confirmed CDC director.
The Department of Health and Human Services posted on its official X account that Susan Monarez is "no longer director" of the agency, which happened about one month after she was confirmed for the job. The Washington Post reported that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked Monarez to leave because she would not change the agency's vaccine policies.
Ali Rogan, journalist for PBS NewsHour, reported on X that three other high-ranking scientists from the agency also resigned, and more departures could follow.
The other departing scientists are Dan Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Deb Houry, the agency's chief medical officer; and Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
'Wow': CDC director's shock ouster sparks internet frenzy and fears of 'big net negative'
Robert Davis
August 27, 2025
RAW STORY
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. discusses the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network survey, during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez on Wednesday set off an internet frenzy as scientists roundly condemned the move.
Monarez was confirmed as the CDC director on July 29 after President Donald Trump withdrew a nominee who faced significant pushback due to his skepticism about vaccines. Some advocates hoped Monarez, a career public health professional, would be a check on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Several of the CDC's top scientists also left the agency after Monarez was fired, according to reports.
A number of scientists and observers reacted to the news on social media.
"Wow," Jonathan Reiner, a medical professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, wrote on X.
"This is possibly related to the aftermath of the shooting at the CDC and subsequent silence of the president," Reiner added. "But its net effect now is to put full operational control of vaccine policy back in RFK’s hands. This is a big net negative for the country."
"Susan Monarez is a career scientist with a history of integrity and evidence based leadership," Dr. Nisha Patel wrote in a post on her personal X account. "She was confirmed as CDC Director less than a month ago. And RFK Jr. has already forced her out. Not because she failed the job, but because she follows the science, not the grift. His 'radical transparency' is a sham. This is about control, not truth. Step out of line, and you’re gone."
"She was competent and an advocate for public health, both of which are liabilities in this administration," Ed Belongia, an infectious disease epidemiologist, posted on Bluesky.
"RFK Jr. is really out there 'building trust.'" Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs, professor emerita of epidemiology at the University of Arizona, wrote on Bluesky.
And for those of you keeping track, Monarez lasted 2.4 Scaramuccis, according to a post on Bluesky from Steve Benen, a producer for MSNBC's 'The Rachel Maddow Show."
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. discusses the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network survey, during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez on Wednesday set off an internet frenzy as scientists roundly condemned the move.
Monarez was confirmed as the CDC director on July 29 after President Donald Trump withdrew a nominee who faced significant pushback due to his skepticism about vaccines. Some advocates hoped Monarez, a career public health professional, would be a check on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Several of the CDC's top scientists also left the agency after Monarez was fired, according to reports.
A number of scientists and observers reacted to the news on social media.
"Wow," Jonathan Reiner, a medical professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, wrote on X.
"This is possibly related to the aftermath of the shooting at the CDC and subsequent silence of the president," Reiner added. "But its net effect now is to put full operational control of vaccine policy back in RFK’s hands. This is a big net negative for the country."
"Susan Monarez is a career scientist with a history of integrity and evidence based leadership," Dr. Nisha Patel wrote in a post on her personal X account. "She was confirmed as CDC Director less than a month ago. And RFK Jr. has already forced her out. Not because she failed the job, but because she follows the science, not the grift. His 'radical transparency' is a sham. This is about control, not truth. Step out of line, and you’re gone."
"She was competent and an advocate for public health, both of which are liabilities in this administration," Ed Belongia, an infectious disease epidemiologist, posted on Bluesky.
"RFK Jr. is really out there 'building trust.'" Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs, professor emerita of epidemiology at the University of Arizona, wrote on Bluesky.
And for those of you keeping track, Monarez lasted 2.4 Scaramuccis, according to a post on Bluesky from Steve Benen, a producer for MSNBC's 'The Rachel Maddow Show."
'Cowardice of a leader': CDC official hits Trump and RFK with blistering rebuke on way out
Daniel Hampton
August 27, 2025
RAW STORY
The main campus of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer
A top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced his resignation in a lengthy social media post in which he delivered a blistering rebuke of the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for undermining science and endangering public health.
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, announced on X his resignation effective end of day Thursday. His announcement came amid an exodus of top scientists from the CDC following the ouster of its director, Susan Monarez.
"This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission," he wrote. "However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough."
Daskalakis said his exit was necessary to ensure he could align his ethics and knowledge of infectious disease and immunology with his principles and obligation to Americans.
Daskalakis added that he could no longer 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.”
He pointed specifically to the Trump administration's recent overhaul of immunization schedules for children and adults as a decision that "threaten[s] the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
Daskalakis expressed alarm over the administration's scientific integrity and accused HHS of sidelining CDC experts and manipulating data for political ends.
“Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people,” he wrote.
He also denounced the administration’s changes to COVID-19 vaccine policy, saying the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices structure “puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.
"Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc,” he added.
Daskalakis took a shot at RFK, writing, "I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information."
He then took a shot at Trump, declaring his resignation was aimed at making his grandfather proud, who died fighting fascism.
"I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur," wrote Daskalakis, referring to the shooting near the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta. "I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed."
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