Ex-CDC Chief Says FDA Facing Similar Political Pressure
Recently fired CDC director Susan Monarez told senators that FDA and other health agencies are facing similar political pressure that she experienced to fire senior career officials and replace them with compliant appointees who are willing to carry out directives from HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Testifying 9/17 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Monarez described instructions from Kennedy that laid out a “sequencing” strategy of dismissals and promotions aimed at reshaping the CDC’s leadership. “If the deputies did not do what I had wanted, I needed to fire them, promote the next group, and continue to do so until I got to an organization that was compliant with my demands,” Monarez said.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) pressed Monarez on whether similar tactics were being used elsewhere in government. Monarez said Kennedy claimed the practice was also occurring at FDA, NIH and CMS, though she could not independently verify that.
Kim raised concerns about political interference in scientific policymaking, pointing to emails and testimony indicating that Kennedy’s staff reviewed and pre-approved policy and personnel decisions. Monarez confirmed that her decisions were subject to political clearance and noted that the Washington Post had recently published related internal correspondence.
The hearing, which came on the eve of a high-interest meeting of CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), also highlighted questions over Kennedy’s alleged involvement in CDC advisory committees. Kim cited Monarez’s account that Kennedy ordered her to pre-approve decisions made by ACIP, an assertion Kennedy has publicly denied. Monarez testified that five other senior HHS officials were present during a meeting in which the demand was made.
Debra Houry, another former CDC leader who recently resigned in protest, testified that decisions on vaccine schedules and other matters appeared to have been predetermined. “So, it feels like there’s already a decision that’s been made, and now we’re trying to figure out how to twist the data to be able to meet that assertion?” Kim asked. Houry agreed, saying: “We were put in positions where I am concerned that the science coming out won’t be gold standard science,” referencing a Trump-era executive order requiring federal agencies to uphold rigorous standards of evidence.