The White House has dismissed Susan Monarez as director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after she refused to resign in a dispute over vaccine policy, with her removal sparking turmoil and further resignations among senior health officials.
Monarez, confirmed by the Senate only last month, reportedly clashed with US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his push to lift vaccine mandates and revoke emergency authorisations.
“Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that she was terminated after declining to step down voluntarily.
Her lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, disputed the White House account, insisting Monarez “has neither resigned nor received notification” of her dismissal. They accused Kennedy of “weaponising public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk,” warning that her case highlights the “systematic dismantling of public health institutions.”
The confrontation came as the Food and Drug Administration approved updated versions of Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines, while rescinding emergency use authorisations and restricting the jabs to higher-risk groups.
Kennedy, a longstanding critic of US vaccination policy, has overseen sweeping changes since taking charge of the HHS earlier this year, including the disbanding of vaccine advisory committees and funding cuts for mRNA research. In a post on X, he said the new framework “delivers science, safety, and common sense.”
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Monarez had resisted pressure to endorse the changes or dismiss senior colleagues. According to multiple reports, she reached out to Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, whose support was pivotal during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings.
At least four senior CDC officials resigned in protest: Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, immunisation director Demetre Daskalakis, infectious disease chief Daniel Jernigan, and data director Jennifer Layden.
Monarez had been nominated by President Donald Trump as his second choice, after withdrawing former Congressman Dave Weldon, who faced criticism over his vaccine views. Under a law passed during the pandemic, the CDC director now requires Senate confirmation.
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