What’s happening at the CDC? Director Susan Monarez ousted after clashes with HHS Secretary RFK Jr.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Wednesday night that Susan Monarez has been removed from her position as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Monarez, who began her tenure just under one month ago after being confirmed by the Senate on July 31, was reportedly asked to resign on Wednesday because she clashed with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over proposed changes to vaccine policies. After refusing to resign, she was fired.

“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the HHS wrote on X Wednesday night. “We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people.”

The announcement of her removal came just hours after the FDA approved new COVID-19 vaccinations—with limits for who qualified to receive them. The new vaccines are available to only younger adults and children with certain medical conditions, a significant change from past policies that approved them for everyone 6 months or older.

Lawyers representing Monarez have asserted that her firing is “legally deficient” and that, as an appointee, she will remain in the position until President Trump himself fires her.

Even though her firing is contested, Monarez’s departure is making waves. It sparked a series of resignations by other top CDC officials and calls for Kennedy’s ouster. Here’s what to know.

Who is Susan Monarez?

A longtime civil servant, Monarez is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate, following a 2023 law requiring confirmation for the position. She is also the first person without a medical degree to be chosen for the role since the 1950s.

Earning her PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Monarez spent years researching infectious diseases. Her expertise led her to serve in several government agencies, helping to transform prevention, diagnosis, and treatment efforts for infectious diseases.

She became director of the CDC after serving as acting director for the seven months between Trump’s inauguration and her confirmation. Before that, she served as director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, another HHS agency.

“Dr. Monarez is a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials,” Kennedy said in a statement after Monarez was confirmed as CDC director.

Why do Monarez’s lawyers contest her firing?

Soon after the HHS announced Monarez’s departure, her lawyers issued a statement condemning the agency for “weaponizing public health” and denying that her termination had come through proper channels.

“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,” Mark S. Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, Monarez’s lawyers, wrote in a statement posted to X on Wednesday night. “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.”

Later that night, Zaid confirmed that White House staff had notified Monarez that she was fired, but they did not accept this notification.

“As a presidential appointee, senate confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her,” Zaid wrote on X. “For this reason, we reject notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Monarez’s job status, but at a press briefing Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted that the president issued her termination and was within his rights to fire her.

“It was President Trump who was overwhelmingly reelected on November 5th. This woman has never received a vote in her life, and the president has the authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.”

What are other leaders in medicine and politics saying about this?

Monarez’s ousting seems to be the final straw for many public health and political officials who disagree with the new administration’s approach to public health, which has undermined federal health institutions with budget and personnel cuts while public trust in these institutions continues to fall.

“Last night’s removal of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the resignations of other senior CDC leaders are highly alarming at a challenging moment for public health,” Bobby M. Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), said in a statement Thursday. “In the wake of CDC budget cuts and the termination of hundreds of employees earlier this year, the AMA is deeply concerned that this turmoil leaves us highly susceptible to public health threats.”

At the CDC itself, at least three leaders—including Demetre Daskalakis, Debra Houry, Daniel Jerniga—resigned Thursday, citing “ongoing changes” at the agency and issues with RFK Jr.’s values and approach to managing the agency.

Top Democrat lawmakers have also weighed in on the agency’s turmoil, calling for the replacement of RFK Jr.

“RFK Jr. is a catastrophic failure and a clear danger in office,” Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado wrote on X. “He never should’ve been confirmed in the first place, and every day he stays in power puts the American people at risk. He needs to be fired.”

In a statement, Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia wrote that “putting a quack like Bobby Kennedy in charge of public health was a grave error” and that the administration is “putting lives at risk.”

Who will replace Monarez as CDC director?

With Monarez out after just under one month at the helm, the CDC is once again looking for a new director. At a press briefing Thursday, Leavitt said a decision would be announced by President Trump or Secretary Kennedy “very soon.”