CDC director slaps down White House's attempt to purge her
Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is refusing an attempt from the Trump administration to push her out of her job. Monarez opposes unscientific policies being pushed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a long history of promoting harmful junk science.
The Trump administration claimed on Wednesday that Monarez had been fired after she refused to resign. But her lawyer Mark Zaid said in a post that because she serves in a Senate-confirmed position, she can be removed only by President Donald Trump himself.
In an earlier post, Zaid and his legal partner, Abbe Lowell, said Monarez has been targeted by the Trump administration after refusing to “rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.” The post also accused Kennedy and the department of “weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk.”
The refusal to bow to a purported firing echoes the stance of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who on Monday refused Trump’s attempt to remove her, noting that he does not have the constitutional power to do so. Cook is now suing the administration.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/28/2340649/-CDC-director-slaps-down-White-House-s-attempt-to-purge-her
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