Get the latest news from our field
The main point: Susan Monarez is out as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director after a month on the job. Several other senior CDC leaders also resigned, including Dr. Debra Houry, Chief Medical Officer, who built the agency’s opioid response program as leader of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
What it means: The loss of the director and other senior leaders is likely to further impede work on key issues addressed by CDC (including substance use and overdoses), already undermined by the sharp reductions in the agency’s workforce and funding.
What’s coming: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy appointed Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill to serve as acting CDC director.
- It may be difficult to win Senate confirmation for a new CDC director. Without a permanent director, Kennedy may be able to fill vacant roles with handpicked deputies without Senate confirmation.
Read more: White House Says New C.D.C. Director Is Fired, but She Refuses to Leave; White House says it fired CDC chief Monarez after she “refused to resign”; Inside the CDC director’s ouster: Kennedy demanded acceptance of new vaccine policies; Susan Monarez refused; Monarez refused to fire top CDC leaders, ‘rubber stamp’ vaccine changes, confidante says
Published
September 2025