CDC in Crisis: Bipartisan Fury Erupts Over Director’s Firing and ‘War on Science’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently engulfed in unprecedented turmoil, as the Trump administration faces rare bipartisan condemnation following the controversial firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez. The upheaval culminated in dozens of staff walking out of the agency’s Atlanta headquarters on Thursday in protest.

Monarez, whose Senate confirmation occurred just a month prior, was reportedly dismissed by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for allegedly not aligning with the president’s agenda and refusing to restrict proven vaccines. Despite the White House’s assertion, Monarez has refused to depart, with her legal team arguing that as a Senate-confirmed appointee, only President Trump himself holds the authority to remove her. Kennedy, a vocal critic of vaccines who previously founded an anti-vaccine group, has recently implemented new restrictions on Covid vaccine access, a move that, alongside concerns over budget cuts and political interference, prompted the resignation of four senior agency leaders.

The crisis has triggered widespread alarm across Capitol Hill. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine expressed deep concern over Monarez’s removal, stating there was “no basis” for the decision. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican and chair of the Senate health committee, called for the postponement of an upcoming Department of Health and Human Services meeting on vaccine use, citing the “serious allegations” and “current turmoil” at the CDC. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders vehemently denounced the administration’s actions, calling it a “full-blown war on science, on public health, and on truth itself,” and criticizing Secretary Kennedy for dismantling the vaccine review process and filling advisory boards with “conspiracy theorists and ideologues.”

The Trump administration, however, shows no signs of relenting. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly criticized one of the departing CDC officials, Demetre Daskalakis, for using the term “pregnant people” in his resignation letter. Daskalakis, who resigned as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, had accused the administration of forcing the agency to generate policies that “do not reflect scientific reality.” In a defiant response on CNN, Daskalakis stated, “I find it outrageous that this administration is trying to erase transgender people,” and reaffirmed his use of inclusive language to counter the administration’s “terrible strategy.”

This ongoing standoff highlights a profound crisis within the nation’s leading public health institution, raising critical questions about scientific integrity and political influence over health policy.

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