CDC Director Susan Monarez won't leave the post until Trump fires her directly, lawyers say

Lawyers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez say a termination notice from the administration was insufficient and she will remain at her post until they hear directly from President Trump.

The Department of Health and Human Services said late Wednesday that Ms. Monarez, who took over the CDC on July 31 after Senate confirmation, was “no longer director.” The White House said she was not following Mr. Trump’s agenda.

One of Ms. Monarez’s lawyers, Mark Zaid, said that won’t cut it.

“As a presidential appointee, Senate-confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her,” he wrote on X. “For this reason, we reject notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position.”

Besides Ms. Monarez, four top health officials announced on Tuesday that they were stepping down.

The shakeup at the CDC, an Atlanta-based institution charged with fighting infectious diseases, is the latest sign of upheaval at health institutions under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Mr. Kennedy earned a massive following with his Make America Healthy Again agenda, particularly his focus on diet and eradicating food additives. He also tapped into skepticism around health experts who led the polarizing federal response to COVID-19.

But his history of vaccine skepticism and decision to shake up advisory boards, which offer vaccine guidance, made experts and doctors nervous.

“First, it was independent advisory committees and career experts. Then it was the dismissal of seasoned scientists. Now, Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk,” Mr. Zaid and another lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he planned to look into the departures.

“These high-profile departures will require oversight by the HELP Committee,” Mr. Cassidy said on X.

Earlier this year, the senator cast a critical vote for Mr. Kennedy as health secretary after struggling with his nomination.

The White House, meanwhile, repeated its assertion that Ms. Monarez had been fired.

“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”

The clash is the second instance this week in which the White House moved to get rid of an employee, only to face resistance from an official.

Earlier, Mr. Trump fired Lisa Cook as a Federal Reserve governor over allegations of mortgage fraud. Yet Ms. Cook, who plans to sue, said Mr. Trump lacked the authority to oust her and hasn’t taken leave.