Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), arrives to testify for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Lawyers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez said late Wednesday that she remains in the role because only President Donald Trump can fire her.
In a post on X, the lawyers said White House staff in the personnel office notified Monarez of her firing on Wednesday. But the lawyers said Monarez is a presidential appointee, so only Trump can oust her.
“For this reason, we reject notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director,” said attorney Mark Zaid in the post, “We have notified the White House Counsel of our position.”
It’s the latest in a leadership upheaval at the CDC. The statement came hours after the White House said it had fired Monarez after she refused to resign.
In an earlier statement, Zaid said Monarez “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts” and that “she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.”
“For that, she has been targeted,” he said.
Monarez and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were at odds over vaccine policy, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing an anonymous administration official.
Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, has taken several steps to change immunization policy in the U.S.
Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was sworn in on July 31. She is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate following a new law passed during the pandemic that required lawmakers to approve nominees for the role.
At least four other top health officials announced Wednesday they were quitting the agency shortly after the Health and Human Services Department said Monarez was “no longer” CDC director in a post on X.
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