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Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been forced out of her role just a few weeks after being confirmed by the Senate in a major shake-up for the beleaguered agency.

The first report of her dismissal came from The Washington Post, based on comments from several officials inside the Trump administration. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which the CDC is part of, did not immediately confirm this to Ars Technica but instead pointed to a post from its official X account. In this post, the department stated:

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. @SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov, who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”

The post did not explain why Monarez had been replaced, but The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—a high-profile anti-vaccine figure—had repeatedly asked her to rescind authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines. She declined to do so without consulting the CDC’s vaccine advisory committees, Kennedy asked her to resign, and she refused. He accused her of failing to support the agenda of President Donald Trump.

Monarez then reached out to Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who, earlier this year, had helped ensure Kennedy’s Senate confirmation by Kennedy making certain assurances. Cassidy objected to Kennedy’s demands, and a heated argument ensued. After that, Monarez was told by other administration officials that she must either resign or be fired.

Her attorneys, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, put out a statement on social media, saying that Monarez has not resigned nor has she been told by the White House that she has been fired. “Her ouster came after she refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts,” the statement said. “She chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.” Zaid also told Ars Technica that at 8:15 p.m. ET on August 27, Monarez had not received an official termination notice.

CDC in a State of Crisis

Monarez’s July Senate confirmation had been seen as a major turning point. She was confirmed 51–47 along party lines and sworn in by Kennedy on July 31. It was the first time any CDC director had been subject to Senate confirmation, as a 2022 law mandated this. “You have unimpeachable scientific credentials and will restore CDC to its rightful place as the gold standard of scientific and public health research and transparency,” Kennedy said during the swearing-in. He expressed “immense confidence” in Monarez and her staff.

Monarez’s background is long and well-regarded. She has a PhD in microbiology and immunology and was the deputy director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under the Biden administration. Monarez previously worked for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Department of Homeland Security, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Security Council. She was also the CDC’s acting director earlier this year, but had stepped down upon Trump nominating her for the role in July.

Monarez’s appointment had been well-received among public health experts. Jennifer Nuzzo of Brown University called her a “loyal, hardworking civil servant who leads with evidence and pragmatism.” Georges Benjamin, the head of the American Public Health Association, described her as an “outstanding researcher” and a “capable manager.”

Her departure from the role comes after a tumultuous few months at the CDC, where hundreds of staff have left the agency through buyouts and layoffs, and many programs have been cut or disrupted. Kennedy himself has been a source of controversy, calling COVID-19 vaccines “the deadliest vaccine ever made” and decrying the CDC as “a cesspool of corruption.”

On August 8, the CDC campus itself was targeted in a mass shooting. A gunman radicalized by COVID-19 vaccine misinformation fired nearly 500 rounds, with around 200 hitting six buildings on the CDC campus. One local police officer was killed, and other CDC staff sheltered in place, terrified. The shooter had blamed vaccines for his health problems and had specifically targeted the CDC.

Her reported ouster has only worsened the agency’s turmoil. Stat News reported that three high-ranking officials had resigned: Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Deb Houry, the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer; and Demetre Daskalakis, head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

In his resignation post, Daskalakis stated, “I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponization of public health.” Houry’s post noted that science must “never be censored or subject to political interpretations.”

Politico had also reported earlier that day that Jennifer Layden, the director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, had resigned.

The events leading to her ouster and these resignations mark what many see as a low point for the CDC and public health more generally. It has long been seen as the bedrock of science-based policy, but now faces serious resignations, growing political interference, and a major trust deficit at a time when there are increasing public health challenges.