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Susan Monarez was ousted from her post as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weeks after her Senate confirmation, according to multiple reports from official sources and government officials.

The first news of Monarez’s ouster came from The Washington Post, which wrote that multiple officials from inside the Trump administration had confirmed the removal. Ars Technica reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which then directed us to a post on its official X account. It read:

Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people. @SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov, who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”

It’s unclear what prompted the ouster. The Post reported that the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had repeatedly pressured Monarez over her COVID-19 vaccine policies and had asked her to reverse the CDC’s approval for them. When Monarez refused to do so without first consulting the CDC’s vaccine advisory committees, Kennedy reportedly demanded that she resign and accused her of refusing to advance Trump’s political agenda. Monarez refused to do so and reached out to Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to complain about the pressure. Cassidy had played a critical role in Kennedy’s own Senate confirmation earlier this year, after he secured written commitments from Kennedy to allow his decisions to stand. Kennedy pushed back on Cassidy’s demands, leading to an “angry exchange” between the two. After that, officials in the administration told Monarez she had to resign or be fired.

Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, Monarez’s lawyers, released a statement on X claiming that their client had not resigned and had not been officially notified of her ouster from the White House. “Her ouster came after she refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts,” the statement read. “She chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.” Zaid also confirmed to Ars Technica that as of 8:15 p.m. ET on August 27, Monarez had yet to receive an official termination notice.

CDC: A Public Health Agency on the Brink of Collapse

Monarez’s confirmation to the post in late July had been a sign of progress. She was confirmed in a 51–47 vote along partisan lines and became the first CDC director to be subject to Senate confirmation after a 2022 law made it a requirement. Kennedy himself had administered the oath of office on July 31, lauding Monarez as someone with “unimpeachable scientific credentials” who would help restore the CDC’s credibility.

Monarez comes with an impressive résumé. She has a PhD in microbiology and immunology and had most recently been deputy director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under the Biden administration. She had previously worked at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Department of Homeland Security, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Security Council. She had also served as acting director of the CDC earlier this year before Kennedy nominated her formally. She stepped down from that position when he was nominated.

Monarez’s appointment was greeted with enthusiasm from public health experts. Jennifer Nuzzo from Brown University said she was a “loyal, hardworking civil servant who leads with evidence and pragmatism.” Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, called her a strong researcher and an effective manager.

But despite her well-regarded past work, her tenure has come to an end in the midst of tumult at the agency. The CDC has lost hundreds of employees through layoffs and buyouts, and several of its programs have been cut or crippled. Kennedy himself has stirred controversy by claiming that COVID-19 vaccines are “the deadliest vaccine ever made” and that the CDC is “a cesspool of corruption.”

The CDC’s campus was also the scene of a tragedy on August 8, when a gunman radicalized by COVID-19 vaccine misinformation shot up the CDC’s offices. Nearly 500 rounds were fired, and about 200 hit six separate CDC buildings. The shooter, who had blamed vaccines for his own health problems, killed one local police officer and terrified employees who scattered for their lives. One woman was hospitalized.

Stat News confirmed that Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Deb Houry, the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer; and Demetre Daskalakis, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, have all resigned from the CDC. In his farewell note, Daskalakis wrote, “I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponization of public health.” Houry’s letter echoed similar concerns, saying that science “should never be censored or subject to political interpretations.”

Politico had also reported earlier on August 27 that Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, resigned as well.

The CDC’s situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. It had been the foundation of evidence-based public health for decades, but is now staring down a host of resignations, political interference, and a credibility crisis at a time when the nation’s public health needs are mounting.