Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) leaders Susan Monarez and Debra Houry, who left their roles last month, will testify before the Senate on Wednesday morning about recent turmoil at the agency and what it means for the future of public health.
Monarez was ousted as director of the agency after she was accused of being misaligned with the Trump administration’s “Make America Health Again” agenda, primarily related to vaccines. Houry, who previously served as deputy director, resigned shortly after with several of her colleagues, claiming Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was “weaponizing” his leadership position.
In testimony obtained by The Hill, Monarez writes that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity” and refusing to bow under pressure from Kennedy to pre-approve recommendations by her agency’s vaccine advisory committee that the secretary terminated and remade.
The hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT.
Watch the live video above.
