For Our Health Statement Following the Removal of CDC Director Susan Monarez and Leadership Resignations

The attempt to fire or force the resignation of CDC Director Susan Monarez less than a month after her Senate confirmation, coupled with the resignations of three of the agency’s highest-ranking officials—Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, Director of Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Demetre Daskalakis, and Director of Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Daniel Jernigan—is profoundly alarming.

This exodus represents a collapse of leadership at the very moment the nation needs it most. These officials did not step down by choice. They were driven out, pushed to the limits of their professional capacity by politically motivated changes in vaccine policy and the dismantling of science-based public health protections under the direction of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Their departures expose a dangerous breakdown in the CDC’s ability to serve the American public.

The resignations follow Secretary Kennedy’s sweeping and reckless reshaping of vaccine guidance. Long-standing recommendations have been revoked, trusted advisory panels dismantled, and individuals hostile to vaccines placed in positions of authority. These actions directly undermine the scientific foundations of public health and place lives at risk.

The consequences are stark. With no experienced leadership at the helm, there are few if any effective checks on Secretary Kennedy’s authority. Vaccine integrity, public trust, and disease prevention are all at risk. This crisis comes on top of layoffs, staff cuts, internal turmoil, and a tragic shooting at CDC that had already devastated morale. The result is a loss of institutional memory, a collapse of capacity, and a dangerous vulnerability to both current and emerging health threats.

For Our Health calls on Congress to act immediately and hold the Trump Administration accountable. The nation cannot afford continued leadership from Secretary Kennedy, whose reckless actions have destabilized the CDC and endangered public health. He must resign. If he refuses, Congress must take all available steps to remove him from office. Immediate steps are also required to:

●      Ensure transparency. The American people deserve a full accounting of why these departures occurred and what safeguards have failed.

●      Reaffirm science-based policy. Decisions on vaccines and public health must be returned to expert-driven consensus, not political interference.

●      Rebuild trust. The CDC must be restored as an institution that defends scientific rigor and protects every community.

This is more than a personnel shake-up. It is a five-alarm warning that public health itself is under attack. For Our Health stands with all who believe health policy must be grounded in science, guided by evidence, and led by experienced professionals—not silenced by politics.

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Operating as an initiative of the American Public Health Association (www.apha.org), For Our Health (www.forourhealth.org) brings together prominent experts and senior leaders in public health, health care, health sciences, and social services to speak in support of public health and against policies that undermine evidence-based health initiatives, weaken scientific institutions, and endanger public health protections.