R.F.K. Jr.’s Firing of C.D.C Director Causes Chaos

Briefing|R.F.K. Jr.’s Firing of C.D.C Director Causes Chaos

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention descended further into chaos today as a standoff continued between its director, Susan Monarez, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Guards escorted from the agency’s headquarters three top officials who quit in protest of her firing.

The White House said late Wednesday that Monarez, an infectious disease researcher who took over the agency less than a month ago, had been dismissed over a dispute regarding vaccine policy. But her lawyers insisted that only the president can fire her.

Kennedy, who reconstituted an expert advisory panel with people who question the safety of vaccines, demanded in meetings this week that Monarez accept the panel’s demands and fire several top officials.

On Thursday, he called the C.D.C. “very troubled” and said changing it would “require getting rid of some people over the long term.” He said he had confidence that the “political staff” at the agency would make that happen.

The officials who quit today were the chief medical officer, the head of the agency’s center overseeing respiratory illnesses and vaccine recommendations, and the head of the center that oversees emerging diseases and vaccine safety. Yesterday, the leader of the office of public health data also resigned.

Related:

• Lisa Cook, the Fed governor President Trump fired this week, filed a federal lawsuit calling her ouster “unprecedented and illegal.”

• A Democrat on the board that regulates railroad mergers got an email from the White House saying his role was terminated. No reason was given.