"This conflict spilled into public view when each presented their version of events to US senators at separate hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Monarez was dismissed, she said, for refusing to fire top scientists at the agency or pre-approve vaccine recommendations without first considering the relevant scientific data. Kennedy testified that Monarez had told him that she wasn't trustworthy, so he ousted her."
"Kennedy had also told Monarez that CDC employees were "killing children and they don't care", were "bought by the pharmaceutical industry" and "forced people to wear masks and social distance like a dictatorship", she testified. These alleged comments came after a deadly shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, soon after she became director. The gunman, who targeted the campus to protest COVID-19 vaccines, killed police officer David Rose and shattered some 150 windows."
Susan Monarez became CDC director in late July amid a collapse in public trust and sharp criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who labeled the agency a 'cesspool of corruption.' Less than a month later, President Donald Trump fired Monarez after she resisted orders to dismiss senior scientists and to pre-approve vaccine recommendations without reviewing scientific data. Monarez and Kennedy gave conflicting accounts at separate congressional hearings. Kennedy allegedly accused CDC staff of being 'bought by the pharmaceutical industry' and of 'killing children,' comments that followed a deadly shooting at CDC headquarters. The episode underscores politicization of public health leadership and vaccine policy.
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