The employment fight between RFK Jr. and CDC Director Monarez, explained

A leadership dispute at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has gone public.

The situation erupted the evening of Aug. 27 and continued the next day with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., CDC Director Susan Monarez and others disclosing details about a potential leadership crisis. CDC bills itself as “the nation's leading science-based, data-driven, service organization that protects the public's health. CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.”

What was posted?

On Aug. 27, the official X (formerly Twitter) account for HHS posted:

“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.”

Who affirmed the decision?

Fox News reported White House spokesman Kush Desai issued a statement about the employment status of Monarez.

"As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again," Desai statement said. "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."

Who is Susan Monarez, PhD?

Susan Monarez, PhD, is a career public-health and biomedical research scientist who rose through federal scientific policy and agency leadership ranks. She served as acting CDC director before being nominated by President Trump for the permanent role in early 2025.

“As director of CDC, Dr. Monarez leads the agency in protecting the public’s health through disease prevention, emergency response, and scientific research, while advising top U.S. officials on health policy,” according to the CDC’s official biography.
Her appointment marked a significant deviation from precedent: She became one of the first CDC directors without a medical degree in decades and the first to require Senate confirmation under a recent law change. This shift reflected evolving expectations of the agency’s leadership during times of public-health transformation.

If she’s not a physician, what is her educational background?

Monarez earned her doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, according to her official biography. These credentials underscore a solid foundation in infectious-disease science, research rigor, and laboratory expertise.

What is her work experience?

Her career history includes:

• Acting CDC Director and Deputy Director (prior to confirmation).
• Leadership roles in ARPA-H, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, where she focused on modernizing data, disease-detection technologies, and health research infrastructure.
• Previous federal science and technology policy and national security-related appointments, including roles in the Department of Homeland Security, the White House OSTP, and NSC-level policy environments.

These roles reflect experience in public-health systems, biosecurity, innovation policy, and interagency coordination.

When was Monarez confirmed by the U.S. Senate?

The Senate confirmed Monarez on July 29, 2025, in a 51–47 party-line vote, the first CDC director to require and receive Senate review and confirmation. She was sworn in shortly thereafter. Her confirmation as a Senate-confirmed CDC director followed her acting tenure and a highly polarized vote, pointing to the political stakes behind the agency leadership.

What is the employment status of Monarez?

By late August 2025, HHS and the White House publicly announced that Monarez was “no longer director,” and a White House spokesperson claimed she was terminated after refusing to resign.
In response, Monarez’s legal team disputed the dismissal, leading to a leadership crisis at the CDC, with several senior officials resigning in protest. This status remains contested and may be subject to legal or administrative review.

How are Monarez and her lawyers contesting her firing?

Monarez’s attorneys — including Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell — challenge the legality of the firing, arguing that as a Senate-confirmed presidential appointee, only the President can lawfully remove her. They assert that Monarez did not resign and that the purported termination notice, allegedly delivered by a White House staffer, lacks legal validity. They maintain she remains the lawful CDC director and have communicated their position to the White House counsel.

The legal challenge raises questions about constitutional and administrative law, specifically the authority and procedures for removal of Senate-confirmed executive officers, the due process requirements, and precedents for such agency changes. Given the political context, public health implications, and staff resignations, the dispute potentially has broader consequences for federal public health governance.
If court proceedings or administrative appeals follow, they may shape the boundaries of executive power and set precedent for future turnover in public health leadership.

What did Monarez’ attorneys say?

“First it was independent advisory committees and career scientists,” said Zaid and Lowell’s statement, posted on X. “Then it was the dismissal of seasoned scientists. Now, Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk.

“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,” the statement said. “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.”

What about the timing of all this?

The statement by attorneys for Monarez did not mention vaccines or the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation with Monarez developed in the hours after Kennedy used X to announce he achieved four goals.

“I promised 4 things:

1. to end covid vaccine mandates.

2. to keep vaccines available to people who want them, especially the vulnerable.

3. to demand placebo-controlled trials from companies.

4. to end the emergency.

“In a series of FDA actions today we accomplished all four goals. The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded.

“FDA has now issued marketing authorization for those at higher risk: Moderna (6+ months), Pfizer (5+), and Novavax (12+). These vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors.

“The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three.”

Did Kennedy and Monarez work together?

HHS acknowledged Kennedy and Monarez had at least one high-profile meeting. They were part of a tour of CDC’s Roybal Campus to view damage and console employees after that campus was attacked by a man with a long gun earlier this month. That attack claimed the life of DeKalb County police Officer David Rose. There has been an outpouring of support for Rose and his family.

Why did Kennedy select Monarez in the first place?

In March, Kennedy praised Monarez, also in a post on X, for her work, and he corrected those who wrongly accused her of supporting restrictive policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“X posts that erroneously attribute Biden-era tweets supporting masks, lockdowns, vaccine mandates, etc. to my @CDCgov Director nominee, Susan Monarez, have understandably provoked agita within the MAHA movement,” Kennedy posted. “I handpicked Susan for this job because she is a longtime champion of MAHA values, and a caring, compassionate and brilliant microbiologist and a tech wizard who will reorient CDC toward public health and gold-standard science. I’m so grateful to President Trump for making this appointment.”

Who else is gone?

Also resigning were:

• CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, MD, MPH. CDC’s official X account noted Houry in 2023 received the American Medical Association’s Award for Outstanding Government Service. She joined CDC in 2014.
• National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH. Daskalakis became known for leading the White House response team to the Mpox outbreak during the tenure of President Joe Biden.
• National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Director Daniel Jernigan, MD, MPH (CAPT, USPHS, RET) “As director of NCEZID, Dr. Jernigan oversees CDC’s work on foodborne, waterborne, fungal, vector-borne, highly pathogenic (e.g., Ebola), and health care-associated infectious diseases,” his official biography said. “He also guides NCEZID programs related to global migration, quarantine, and broad efforts that support U.S. health department’s work on preparedness and response for emerging infectious diseases.”
• Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD, of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, according to at least one social media post.

For those CDC leaders, their photographs remained posted on CDC’s website, but their biographies were removed and the posts were listed as vacant, as of late morning Aug. 28.

Why did they leave?

Daskalakis posted his resignation letter to Houry on his X account.

“This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission,” Daskalakis’ letter said in part.“However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

“While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people,” Daskalakis wrote. “This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles. I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”

How are medical experts reacting?

Infectious Diseases Society of America President Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP, issued a statement condemning the situation. It is titled: “The sustained attacks on public health in the U.S. must end now.”

“The mass resignations of CDC expert leaders present a clear and present danger to Americans of all ages and leave our nation extremely vulnerable to a wide range of public health threats from outbreaks to bioterror attacks,” Tan’s statement said. “As we near respiratory virus season, it is imperative that our country have expert public health leadership for effective surveillance, communications and responses.

“This loss of highly experienced CDC leadership is the latest devastating result of the Administration’s sustained attacks on public health, and it absolutely must be the last,” Tan said. “It is time for fundamental changes and a return to evidence-based policy. The administration’s current trajectory for destroying the public health system is reckless and cannot continue.”

What about ramifications for public health?

American Public Health Association President Georges C. Benjamin, MD, issued a statement, “Kennedy’s attack on public health must be stopped.”

“The abrupt attempt to oust Dr. Susan Monarez, the CDC’s director just weeks after her Senate confirmation, is yet another glaring sign of Secretary Kennedy’s failed leadership and reckless mismanagement,” Benjamin’s statement said in part. “His tenure has been marked by chaos, disorganization, and a blatant disregard for science and evidence-based public health. Pushing Dr. Monarez out underscores his administrative incompetence and his disdain for the expertise that the public and our public health agencies rely on.

“RFK Jr. must be removed from his position. Since taking office, his actions have sown confusion, demoralized staff and jeopardized the very foundation of our nation’s health security,” Benjamin said. “Most critically, these missteps threaten lives — creating risks that could have been prevented if competent leadership were in place.”

Should physicians be concerned?

American Medical Association President Bobby M. Mukkamala, MD, also issued a statement on the situation.

“Last night’s removal of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the resignations of other senior CDC leaders are highly alarming at a challenging moment for public health," his statement said. "This destabilization comes at a time when CDC’s credibility and leadership are more essential than ever. In the wake of CDC budget cuts and the termination of hundreds of employees earlier this year, the AMA is deeply concerned that this turmoil leaves us highly susceptible to public health threats.

“We must restore confidence in our public health institutions to ensure that scientific expertise and data drive guidance and policy.”