(NewsNation) — Susan Monarez, the longtime government scientist recently confirmed as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was fired from the post Wednesday, though she tried to resist the ouster.
“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,” her attorneys, Washington D.C. lawyers Mark S. Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, said in a prepared statement.
Monarez’s attorneys took aim at Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying he and the larger agency he runs “have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk.” They added “Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”
In case there were any lingering questions about her status, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services posted on X: “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.” And a White House spokesperson later said, ” … the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”
The Washington Post was first to report Monarez’s firing. The Hill has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
Prior to being nominated to lead the CDC, Monarez had served as acting CDC director shortly after the start of the second Trump administration. She previously served as deputy director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
President Trump chose Monarez as his second choice after his first choice, former Florida Rep. David Weldon, a Republican, failed to garner enough GOP support.