The CDC was in a strange state of limbo Thursday: It remains unclear who is leading the health agency. On Wednesday, a White House spokesperson said Susan Monarez had been fired as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Monarez's attorneys shot back at that: because she was confirmed by the Senate, President Trump would have to fire her directly for the termination to be valid, reports the Wall Street Journal. As of early Thursday afternoon, Trump does not appear to have done so.
The CDC is overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the New York Times reports that Kennedy tried to fire her after a "tense confrontation" this week. However, Kennedy seems to lack the authority to do so, because of Monarez's Senate confirmation, according to the newspaper. Former CDC director Richard Besser told reporters on Thursday that Monarez had been asked to resign after refusing to fire agency leaders and to support changes to vaccine policy by Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, reports Politico.
"She said that there were two things she would never do in the job," Besser said. "She said she was asked to do both of those, one in terms of firing her leadership, who are talented civil servants like herself, and the other was to rubber stamp [vaccine] recommendations that flew in the face of science, and she was not going to do either of those things." Four top CDC officials quit on Wednesday, in apparent protest of Kennedy's policies and leadership.
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A key figure in all this may end up being GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who backed Kennedy for the HHS post only after initial reluctance. Late Wednesday, Cassidy said the CDC's "high-profile departures will require oversight" by the Senate health committee he chairs. A Democratic senator was less reserved: "I had serious doubts about CDC Director Monarez's willingness to stand up against RFK Jr.'s personal mission to destroy public health in America—I'm glad that I was wrong," tweeted Sen. Patty Murray. "If there are any adults left in the White House: we cannot let RFK Jr. burn what's left of CDC. FIRE HIM."
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