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CDC director Susan Monarez has been forced out of her role just weeks after her Senate confirmation. It’s the latest shakeup for the beleaguered public health agency.

The news was first reported by The Washington Post, which spoke to several officials within the Trump administration. After Ars Technica contacted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for confirmation, the department linked to its own post on X. The post simply stated:

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.”

No reason was given for the change of leadership. According to The Washington Post, Monarez had been repeatedly pushed by the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken anti-vaccine activist, to rescind of approvals for COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy told her to do so without consulting the CDC’s vaccine advisory committees. When Monarez refused, he reportedly then told her to resign, accusing her of being “weak” and failing to follow through on President Trump’s agenda.

Monarez declined to resign. Instead, she reached out to Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La. ), who had helped broker Kennedy’s Senate confirmation earlier this year by extracting assurances from him. Cassidy pushed back against Kennedy’s directives and had a fiery confrontation with him. After that, administration officials told Monarez that if she didn’t resign, she would be fired.

Lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, who represented Monarez, tweeted a statement saying she had not resigned and that the White House had not sent her an official termination notice. “Her ouster came after she refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts,” it said. “She chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” Zaid confirmed to Ars Technica that Monarez had not received an official termination notice as of 8:15 p.m. ET on August 27.

CDC Director Ousted Amid Turmoil and Staggering Losses

Monarez’s confirmation in late July had been seen as a breakthrough. She won approval 51–47 along party lines and became the first CDC director ever to undergo Senate confirmation after a 2022 law mandated it. Kennedy himself swore her in on July 31, saying she had “impeccable scientific credentials” and that he believed she could help restore the CDC’s integrity.

She had an extensive and respected track record. Monarez has a PhD in microbiology and immunology, and before coming to CDC had served as deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under the Biden administration. She also worked at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Department of Homeland Security, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and National Security Council. She was also tapped to be acting director of the CDC earlier this year, a post she held until she stepped aside to be formally nominated by Trump.

Public health professionals had welcomed her. Jennifer Nuzzo of Brown University called her a “loyal, hardworking civil servant who leads with evidence and pragmatism.” Georges Benjamin, the head of the American Public Health Association, said she had a “good research track record and can manage well.”

However, her brief tenure ended with the CDC in crisis. The agency has lost hundreds of workers in layoffs and buyouts, and has seen many programs cut or impeded. Kennedy himself has caused issues by decrying COVID-19 vaccines as “the deadliest vaccine ever made” and calling the CDC “a cesspool of corruption.”

On August 8, tragedy struck when a man radicalized by vaccine misinformation fired an entire magazine clip at the CDC’s campus. Around 500 rounds were fired, with some 200 of those striking six separate CDC buildings. One local police officer was killed, and many staff members rushed to safety in terror. The shooter blamed vaccines for his own health problems and had targeted the CDC.

The developments since Monarez’s reported ouster have only added to the agency’s woes. Stat News confirmed the resignation of three high-ranking officials: Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Deb Houry, the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer; and Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.