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CDC Director Susan Monarez has been ousted from her job just weeks after her Senate confirmation in what’s become the latest in a long string of high-profile departures from the beleaguered public health agency.

The news was first reported by The Washington Post, which spoke to multiple officials within the Trump administration. After Ars Technica reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for comment, the department directed Ars to a post on its official X account:

“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 leadership change, though The Washington Post reported that U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had “badgered her over the past several weeks” to rescind approvals for COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy reportedly asked Monarez to reverse course, but she refused without first consulting the CDC’s vaccine advisory committees. Kennedy then ordered her to resign, telling her that she was “not doing the President’s business.”

Monarez refused to resign. Instead, she reached out to Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La. ), who had been instrumental in Kennedy’s Senate confirmation earlier this year and had obtained written assurances from the nominee. Cassidy confronted Kennedy about Monarez’s ouster, which led to a heated argument. After that meeting, multiple administration officials said Monarez had to either resign or be terminated.

In a statement on social media, lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said Monarez had not resigned, and that they had not been notified of any White House-ordered dismissal: “Her ouster came after she refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts,” the statement continued. “She chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.” Zaid later confirmed to Ars Technica that Monarez had still received no official notice of termination as of 8:15 p.m. ET on August 27.

CDC Falls Apart

Monarez’s July Senate confirmation had been seen as a turning point. She was confirmed in a 51–47 party-line vote and became the first CDC director ever to be subject to Senate confirmation when a 2022 law made it mandatory. Kennedy himself administered the oath of office on July 31, saying at the time, “Dr. Monarez has unimpeachable scientific credentials and has never shied away from hard truths. I know she will work tirelessly to restore the integrity and credibility of the CDC.”

Monarez came with impeccable qualifications. A PhD in microbiology and immunology, she served as deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) in the Biden administration. She also previously worked at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Department of Homeland Security, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Security Council. She also had a brief tenure as the acting CDC director earlier this year, before stepping down for her formal nomination from Trump.

Monarez’s credentials were strong enough that public health experts had openly praised her selection. Jennifer Nuzzo of Brown University said Monarez was a “loyal, hardworking civil servant who leads with evidence and pragmatism,” while Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, said she was “a strong researcher with significant management experience.”

Nonetheless, Monarez’s tenure at the CDC has come amid a complete meltdown at the agency. Hundreds of CDC employees have left via layoffs and buyouts, while a raft of programs have been cut or curtailed. Kennedy himself has contributed to a toxic environment by denouncing COVID-19 vaccines as “the deadliest vaccine ever made” and calling the CDC a “cesspool of corruption.”

On August 8, the CDC campus was the site of a shooting in which a gunman radicalized by vaccine misinformation opened fire, discharging up to 500 rounds of ammunition into six CDC buildings. The shooter, who had blamed vaccines for his own health problems, was eventually killed by law enforcement. One local police officer was killed and several staffers were left terrified as they attempted to escape the gunfire.

The aftershocks from Monarez’s reported firing have only made the situation at CDC worse. Stat News reported resignations of three high-profile agency officials: Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Deb Houry, CDC’s Chief Medical Officer; and Demetre Daskalakis, who led the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

In his resignation letter, Daskalakis wrote, “I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponization of public health.” Houry’s farewell letter said that science should “never be censored or subject to political interpretations.”

In a report earlier that day, Politico also said Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, had resigned.

The entire affair marks a nadir for an agency that was once the exemplar of evidence-based public health but is now being torn asunder by political pressures, mounting resignations, and a broader loss of public trust when public health challenges are only getting worse.