The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, was reportedly fired on Wednesday after she resisted changes to covid-19 vaccine policies, according to the Washington Post. But her lawyer says she hasn’t been officially notified of the termination, throwing a curveball into an already chaotic news cycle at the CDC.
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” attorney Mark Zaid posted to Bluesky on Wednesday night. “For that, she has been targeted.”
“Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign,” Zaid continued.
Monarez was confirmed by the U.S. Senate just four weeks ago. After news broke of her ouster (whether it’s real or just imagined by the Trump regime), several other top officials at the federal health agency announced they were resigning, including the Chief Medical Officer.
Monarez was “pressed for days” by Trump regime lawyers and Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to rescind certain approvals for covid vaccines, according to the Post. Kennedy personally asked Monarez whether she was “aligned with the administration’s efforts to change vaccine policy,” and it seems like we can guess that she wasn’t.
Kennedy reportedly asked Monarez to resign for not supporting “President Trump’s agenda,” but she declined and even sought support from Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, who has received criticism for not pushing back harder against Trump’s anti-science crusaders like Kennedy. Cassidy is a physician and has been seen as one of the few Republicans in a position to stop zealots in the Trump regime who are pushing anti-vaccine policies.
Monarez had testified during her confirmation hearing that she didn’t see any link between vaccines and autism, something that puts her at odds with Kennedy’s worldview and the so-called Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Kennedy first promised back in April to reveal the “cause” of autism in September—something that should be a huge red flag for anyone who cares about science. Scientific discoveries aren’t announced on a schedule like an album dropping. Kennedy renewed his promise to reveal the “cause” during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The X account for HHS claimed that Monarez is “no longer director” of the CDC, thanking her for her “dedicated service” but without explaining why she left.
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…
— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) August 27, 2025
Other top officials who have resigned in the wake of Monarez’s supposed firing include everyone from the Chief Medical Officer to experts on infectious diseases and immunizations.
Debra Houry resigns
Debra Houry, the Chief Medical Officer at CDC, reportedly resigned, explaining in a memo to staff that “I am committed to protecting the public’s health, but the ongoing changes prevent me from continuing in my job as a leader of the agency,” according to STAT.
Houry wrote that science should “never be censored or subject to political interpretations,” suggesting that precisely such a thing was currently underway at the CDC.
“Vaccines save lives—this is an indisputable, well-established, scientific fact,” Houry wrote, according to the Washington Post. “Recently, the overstating of risks and the rise of misinformation have cost lives, as demonstrated by the highest number of U.S. measles cases in 30 years and the violent attack on our agency.”
Houry was referring to a shooting at CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month. A police officer was killed, and the shooter, identified as Patrick Joseph White, fired at least 500 rounds into the building before taking his own life. White reportedly was upset about the covid-19 vaccine, which he believed made him sick.
Jennifer Layden resigns
Jennifer Layden, director of the CDC’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, also resigned on Wednesday, according to Politico. Layden joined the CDC in 2020, coming from the Chicago Department of Public Health, and co-led a CDC task force on covid-19 that issued guidance on vaccines during the height of the pandemic.
Demetre Daskalakis resigns
Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, also resigned in the wake of Moranez’s firing.
“I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponization of public health,” Daskalakis said in an email, according to STAT. Daskalakis wrote that he hoped CDC staff would “continue to shine despite this dark cloud over the agency and our profession,” according to the Post.
Daniel Jernigan resigns
Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, also resigned, according to Reuters. Jernigan’s departure is especially significant, considering the U.S. just confirmed its first case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite.
Monarez wasn’t Trump’s first pick for the head of the CDC. The president, presumably in consultation with RFK Jr., wanted Republican congressman Dave Weldon from Florida to take the role. Weldon was withdrawn from consideration in March over his anti-vaccine views.
One of Kennedy’s allies told the Daily Beast this week that the Health Secretary planned to pull covid-19 vaccines completely from the market “within months,” but it’s unclear if that will actually happen. Kennedy announced Wednesday that the FDA had revoked the emergency use authorization of the covid vaccine and issued narrower rules that will make it much harder for people under the age of 65 and those without other health concerns from getting vaccinated.
It seems very likely that those changes to the covid-19 vaccine policy are at the heart of the shake-up at the CDC, which some people are calling Bloody Wednesday on social media.
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