Trump administration fires CDC Dir. Susan Monarez after she refuses to resign

The White House on Wednesday said it had fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign. Four other top CDC officials announced they were quitting the embattled health agency.

The leadership crisis at CDC erupted the same day the Food and Drug Administration announced new limits on who can get the latest approved round of Covid vaccines in the U.S.

“Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House Spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to NBC News. “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing [Health and Human Services Department] leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”

The statement comes hours after attorney Mark Zaid said he was representing Monarez and that she had not actually been fired yet or stepped down, adding that she would not resign.

“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” Zaid said in a statement. “For that, she has been targeted.”

Earlier on Wednesday, HHS said in a post on X that “Monarez is no longer director” of the agency. 

Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was sworn in on July 31. She is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate following a new law passed during the pandemic that required lawmakers to approve nominees for the role.

The Washington Post first reported her ousting on Wednesday. 

At least four other officials also submitted their resignations on Wednesday in a massive shakeup at the agency: Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology.

Houry, in a resignation letter obtained by NBC News, wrote about the dangers of the spread of vaccine misinformation and said proposed budget cuts and reorganization plans would negatively impact the CDC’s ability to address conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, overdoses and mental health issues.

In his resignation letter, also obtained by NBC News, Daskalakis said he was leaving the agency “because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health.”

Her departure comes at a tumultuous time for the agency, which is reeling from a gunman’s attack on its Atlanta headquarters on Aug. 8. A police officer died in the shooting. 

Monarez on Friday canceled a meeting with CDC workers that had been scheduled for Monday, according to an email obtained by NBC News. She said she wanted to assure staff that the agency is working to restore their “trust in the safety and security of all CDC workplaces.”

President Donald Trump nominated Monarez after withdrawing his first pick to lead the CDC, former Republican congressman Dave Weldon, hours before his confirmation hearing. Weldon has been criticized for his views on vaccines. 

— CNBC’s Michele Luhn contributed to this report.