Attorneys for CDC Director Susan Monarez said Wednesday that she will not step down, despite efforts by White House officials and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove her for what they called prioritizing “protecting the public” over “a political agenda.”
“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. For that, she has been targeted,” Monarez’s lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said in a statement, ABC News reported.
The dispute began when HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his deputy chief of staff, Stefanie Spear, pressed Monarez to back changes to COVID-19 vaccine policy and the dismissal of senior staff, which she refused to endorse, a source told ABC News.
HHS later announced that Monarez was “no longer director” of the CDC, prompting a wave of resignations from senior officials and a forceful statement from Monarez’s attorneys Wednesday evening declaring she would not step down.
The White House issued a statement late Wednesday through spokesperson Kush Desai confirming that Monarez had been “terminated.” President Trump as head of the Executive Branch has the authority to dismiss the CDC director, ABC News noted.
“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again. Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC,” Desai said.
Monarez’s attorneys countered that she could not be removed without action from Trump, noting she was the first CDC director to be Senate-confirmed and was appointed to the post by him. “For this reason, we reject the notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position,” Zaid and Lowell said in a statement.
Monarez was appointed to her position a month ago. Trump’s first nominee, Dave Weldon, lacked the votes for Senate confirmation, due in part to his record of vaccine skepticism, ABC reported.
