The CDC website
The White House late Wednesday night said that it had fired Susan Monarez, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after a tense confrontation in which Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to remove her from her position, according to The New York Times report. A lawyer for Monarez said in response that she was refusing to step down.
Monarez, an infectious disease researcher, was sworn in one month ago by Kennedy Jr.
In the news report, a spokesman for President Donald Trump, Kush Desai, said that Monarez was “not aligned with the president’s agenda of making America healthy again,” and so “the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”
Following the firing of Monarez, at least four top officials announced their resignations, including Dr. Debra Houry, chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jen Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology, according to news reports.
Editor's Note: This is a developing story. Check back as QA continues to provide updates.