Susan Monarez has been fired just shy of a month into her role as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” a post on the Department of Health and Human Services X account said. “We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people.”
The Washington Post first reported on her ousting.
Monarez’s departure comes at a tumultuous time for the agency.
On Aug. 8, a gunman shattered windows of six buildings of the CDC campus. A police officer died in the shooting. Several days after the shooting, Monarez sought to reassure staffers during a virtual meeting.
“We know that misinformation can be dangerous,” Monarez said during the meeting, according to a transcript obtained by NBC News. “Not only to health, but to those that trust us and those we want to trust. We need to rebuild the trust together.”
Last Friday, Monarez canceled a meeting with CDC staff that had been scheduled for Monday. The focus of the meeting was going to be safety concerns and security enhancements following the shooting.
“Unfortunately, we need to postpone Monday’s event for an HHS meeting that I have been asked to attend in person in DC,” Monarez wrote in an email to CDC staff seen by NBC News.
With her firing, the agency returns to the leaderless state it has been in for the majority of the new Trump administration. Trump’s original pick for CDC director, Dr. David Weldon, was pulled from consideration hours before his confirmation hearing in March. Weldon, a former congressman from Florida, had a history of questioning vaccine safety.
Monarez briefly served as the agency’s acting director before she was nominated in Weldon’s place.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
