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CDC Leadership Shakeup Sparks Wave of High-Level Resignations [WATCH]

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August 28, 2025
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CDC Leadership Shakeup Sparks Wave of High-Level Resignations [WATCH]

Less than a month after being sworn in, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez is refusing to step down following the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announcement that she had been removed from the position.

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Monarez’s attorneys, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, said they are representing her and stated she “has neither resigned nor yet been fired.”

In a statement released on social media, the attorneys accused HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of politicizing public health.

“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 said.

“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.”

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According to reporting from The Washington Post, sources inside the CDC said HHS leadership, including Kennedy, wanted Monarez to rescind approvals for certain COVID-19 vaccines.

When Monarez did not agree immediately, she was told she must resign or face termination.

The same sources also said she attempted to involve Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate’s top health committee, in the matter. That action reportedly further angered Kennedy.

The agency pointed to its official response posted on X: “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. Secretary Kennedy has full confidence in his team at the CDC who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”

The White House also confirmed Monarez’s removal.

Spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement: “As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again. Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”

Monarez was nominated to lead the CDC earlier this year after Dave Weldon, the administration’s initial nominee, withdrew in March due to concerns he might not secure Senate confirmation.

Monarez was formally nominated shortly after Weldon stepped aside and was confirmed in the final week of July.

She was the first CDC director to require Senate confirmation after Congress passed a law in 2022 mandating the process.

During her confirmation hearing, Monarez expressed her support for vaccines, stating she had “not seen a causal link between vaccines and autism.”

She was also the first CDC director without a medical degree in over 70 years, though she holds a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology.

Monarez has held several federal positions during her career, including roles at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

Her CDC biography stated she worked on “leading efforts to enhance the nation’s biomedical innovation capabilities, including combating antimicrobial resistance, expanding the use of wearables to promote patient health, ensuring personal health data privacy, and improving pandemic preparedness.”

Shortly after the news of Monarez’s removal, at least three other senior CDC officials submitted their resignations, according to sources who spoke with Fox News Digital.

Those resigning included Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Centers for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer.

Daskalakis shared his resignation letter on X, citing “the views” of Kennedy and his staff as a central reason for his departure.

Daskalakis criticized recent changes made by HHS regarding vaccine schedules, saying the policies “threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”

He also pointed to efforts by the administration to “erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research.”

The removal of Monarez and the wave of resignations mark a significant shift in leadership at the CDC less than one month after she became the first Senate-confirmed director in the agency’s history.



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