Ex-CDC chief says RFK Jr ordered her to approve all vaccine decisions 'regardless of scientific evidence’

WASHINGTON, DC: Former CDC Director Susan Monarez detailed her clashes with her onetime boss, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, September 17.

Her testimony marked her first major appearance since being abruptly ousted last month after just 29 days leading the agency.

Susan Monarez says RFK Jr fired experts without warning

Susan Monarez told senators her tenure was turbulent from the very beginning. She recalled learning through the press on August 2 that RFK Jr had dismissed several medical experts from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

“My tenure as CDC director lasted 29 days,” Monarez said in her opening statement.

“Since my removal, several explanations have been offered: that I told the secretary I would resign, that I was not aligned with administration priorities, or that I was untrustworthy. None of those reflect what actually happened,” she added.

Susan Monarez claims RFK Jr told her to ignore science and purge vaccine officials

Susan Monarez also said that RFK Jr pressured her to fall in line with his demands.

“On the morning of August 25, Secretary Kennedy demanded two things of me that were inconsistent with my oath of office and the ethics required of a public official,” Monarez testified.

“He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence. He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause. He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign,” said the former CDC director.

When she declined, RFK Jr told her he “had already spoken with the White House several times about having me removed,” Monarez stated.

Susan Monarez says RFK Jr blocked her from speaking to Congress

Susan Monarez added that RFK Jr ordered her not to share concerns about the Health and Human Services policy with lawmakers.

“Secretary Kennedy became aware of that, and he was very concerned that I had spoken to members of Congress,” she said. “He told me I was never to do it again.”

She explained that the HHS secretary's directive clashed with the pledges she made during her Senate confirmation process.

“I could have stayed silent, agreed to the demands, and no one would have known. What the public would have seen were scientists dismissed without cause and vaccine protections quietly eroded… I could have kept the office, the title, but I would have lost the one thing that cannot be replaced: My integrity,” Monarez said.

On August 27, the Health Department announced Monarez was removed, less than a month after the Senate confirmed her as director. 

During his own testimony on Capitol Hill earlier this month, RFK Jr admitted he dismissed Monarez because she refused to “rubber-stamp” decisions he put forward. Soon after, several top CDC employees also resigned from their posts.