Two former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will denounce Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr in their testimonies before a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday.
In testimony obtained by The Hill, former CDC Director Susan Monarez writes that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity” and refusing to bow under pressure from Kennedy to pre-approve recommendations by the her agency’s vaccine advisory committee that the secretary terminated and remade.
Monarez was removed from her position as CDC director less than a month after being confirmed by the Senate. Her ouster was followed by the resignations of four top CDC leaders including Houry.
Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who along with Monarez will testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Wednesday, writes in her own testimony that plans to support the Trump administration’s health goals were being developed during the transition but “that all changed when Mr. Kennedy was sworn in.”
His leadership has “significantly weakened and undermined” the CDC’s ability to protect American health, Houry states in her testimony.
The Trump administration claimed Monarez was not aligned with its health goals, but Monarez pushed back against these accusations.
“I was never misaligned with administration priorities. The goals Secretary Kennedy recently cited publicly — protecting the public from threats, building infrastructure, modernizing systems, investing in the workforce, and enhancing scientific rigor — were the same priorities I articulated at my confirmation hearing and began advancing during my short tenure,” Monarez writes.
“I remain supportive of those priorities. The question is whether they can be achieved without the expertise required at the CDC.”
Kennedy claimed in his own Senate hearing earlier this month that Monarez told him she was not a trustworthy person in a conversation prior to her termination. The longtime government scientist provided her own recollection of that talk.
“Regarding trustworthiness — I cannot define that word for Secretary Kennedy. I made commitments to this Committee that I would lead with integrity, transparency, and purpose, and work with Congress to maximize health outcomes and protect the American people. Secretary Kennedy told me he could not trust me. I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence, fire career officials without cause, or resign — and I had shared my concerns with this Committee,” Monarez said.
“I told the Secretary that if he believed he could not trust me, he could fire me.”
Houry backs up these claims, writing in her testimony, “Our Director, Dr. Susan Monarez, appointed by President Trump, and CDC’s senior scientific leadership were no longer permitted to rely on their expertise – they were expected to serve as rubber stamps for the Secretary’s decisions.”
Their hearing will take place one day before the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet to discuss and vote on vaccine recommendations.
Kennedy fired all 17 sitting members earlier this year and replaced them with members of his own choosing, with several known vaccine skeptics among them. He announced the addition of five more members on Monday, several of them having publicly criticized vaccinations.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the HELP committee, called for the meeting to be delayed after the CDC leadership exodus, citing its relatively small size at the time and the upheaval within the agency. He warned its recommendations could be viewed with skepticism if it proceeds as scheduled.
Both Monarez and Houry warned against the guidance coming from this committee amid the agency’s upheaval. The scientists cited the recent measles outbreak that occurred in Texas this year as an example of the risk in not pushing scientifically supported preventives like vaccines.
Both Monarez and Houry warned against the guidance coming from this committee amid the agency’s upheaval. The scientists cited the recent measles outbreak that occurred in Texas this year as an example of the risk in not pushing scientifically-supported preventives like vaccines.
“Based on what I observed during my tenure, there is real risk that recommendations could be made restricting access to vaccines for children and others in need without rigorous scientific review. With no permanent CDC Director in place, those recommendations could be adopted,” wrote Monarez.
“Under Secretary Kennedy, the Committee has been replaced with known critics of vaccines and operates under decreased transparency, with a willful refusal to follow established scientific and decision-making procedures,” Houry wrote.
“Process matters because trust matters. If people believe outcomes are predetermined, or that recommendations are slanted by ideology rather than scientific data, they are less likely to accept even well-supported recommendations. Sadly, this is the path we are on,” she added.
