The CDC in Freefall

Leadership Purge Endangers America’s Health

This week marks yet another troubling chapter in what has become the systematic dismantling of America's premier public health agency. In a stunning culmination of months of turmoil, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experienced what can only be described as an unprecedented shakeup of leadership.

According to a terse announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” But her ouster—which she and her lawyers dispute, saying she had neither resigned nor been told she was fired—was just the beginning of an unprecedented exodus.

According to her lawyers: “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. For that, she has been targeted.”

“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,” added the attorneys.

Within hours of the announcement, other top CDC officials resigned. These departing experts include:

· Dr. Debra Houry, the agency's Chief Medical Officer.

• Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

• Dr. Daniel Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

• Dr. Jennifer Layden, Director for the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology

A Perfect Storm of Leadership Turmoil

The crisis at the CDC has been building for months under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. What began as targeted layoffs in February—affecting as many as 1,300 probationary employees—has escalated into a full-scale purge of scientific expertise and institutional knowledge. These departures have already gutted nearly a third of the agency's top management.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shed nearly one-quarter of its staff since President Trump took office, with nearly 3,000 employees leaving the agency either involuntarily or on their own accord. This represents an unprecedented hollowing out of the nation's premier public health agency and puts the health of our families and communities at grave risk.

The Vaccine Advisory Committee Purge

Perhaps no single action better illustrates the administration's approach to public health than Kennedy's decision in June to remove all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This expert panel, which has operated for decades as an independent scientific body providing evidence-based vaccine recommendations, was dismissed wholesale and hastily replaced with appointees whose qualifications and potential conflicts of interest remain unclear.

The American Medical Association condemned the move, stating it "undermines trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives."

Public Health and Scientific Integrity Under Siege

This latest assault on the CDC is just another example of RFK’s lack of competence in protecting and promoting our nation’s health. His approach represents a fundamental shift away from evidence-based public health policy toward ideology-driven decision-making. For example, he dropped routine COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women and terminated $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine projects.

Implications

The timing of the dismantlement of CDC leadership could not be worse. As we approach flu season and continue to grapple with ongoing COVID-19 variants, the CDC's capacity to monitor, analyze, and respond to public health threats has been severely compromised. When an outbreak occurs, it often spreads across multiple states or comes from international sources. The CDC performs functions that individual states cannot effectively handle alone. They lack the authority and resources to coordinate responses across jurisdictions or track pathogens globally. The CDC can work with other countries and coordinate multi-state investigations.

The loss of institutional memory and expertise represented by these CDC departures will take years to rebuild. The erosion of trust and confidence undermines not only domestic health security but also America's role as a global leader in disease prevention and control.

CDC’s loss of leadership also creates a vicious cycle: as experienced professionals leave, institutional knowledge walks out the door with them, making the agency less capable of fulfilling its mission, which in turn creates more pressure for political interference and further departures. It also sends a discouraging signal to young people who might consider a career at the CDC.

Bottom Line

The current crisis demands immediate congressional oversight and intervention. The systematic dismantling of America's public health infrastructure represents a clear and present danger to national security and public welfare. Congress must act quickly to protect remaining expertise and rebuild trust in the CDC as our nation’s premier public health agency. Beyond qualified leadership, this will require a fundamental recommitment to evidence-based policy-making, and the protection of public health experts from political interference.

Public health is not (or should not be) a partisan issue. The stakes could not be higher. The time for action is now.

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