CDC Director Monarez removed four weeks after confirmation

CDC Director Removed Amid Controversy

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the removal of Susan Monares from her role as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“HHS can confirm that Dr. Monares is no longer the director of the CDC,” the agency stated on a social media platform.

However, Monares’ legal representatives have disputed this announcement.

“Dr. Monares has neither resigned nor been informed by the White House of her termination. She will not resign, as her commitment lies with integrity and science,” her attorneys, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, remarked in a statement.

In response to Monares’ insistence on remaining in her position, White House spokesperson Kush Desai reiterated that she had indeed been dismissed, regardless of her claims.

“Susan Monares does not align with the president’s health agenda, as illustrated in her lawyer’s statements,” Desai commented. “The White House has officially ended her role at the CDC, especially after she refused to resign despite previous communications indicating her intent to do so.”

Zaid countered by asserting that only President Trump possesses the authority to terminate Monares’ position.

“Our client was informed late at night by Human Resources at the White House that she had been let go. Only the president can fire her as a Senate appointee,” Zaid explained just after midnight on Wednesday.

“Due to this, Dr. Monares contends that she has not been officially notified and remains the CDC Director,” he added. “We’ve made the White House lawyers aware of our stance.”

Monares had been confirmed as the CDC Director on July 29 with a narrow 51-47 Senate vote.

During her confirmation hearing, she addressed Democrats, asserting that she had not identified any link between vaccines and autism.

This debate ties back to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of HHS, who has consistently raised concerns about vaccine safety, particularly focusing on mRNA vaccines. Nonetheless, Monares has maintained her strong advocacy for vaccinations.