'I agree with Trump': Ex-CDC official uses president's name to protest firing by RFK Jr.
September 17, 2025
During her opening statement before a Senate committee, Dr. Susan Monarez, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that at the time of her firing by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. she was following a path laid out by President Donald Trump.
She explained that, “For three decades, I have worked at the intersection of public health, science and technology innovation, always challenging the status quo and welcoming the changes that come from research and discovery. Even under pressure, I could not replace evidence with ideology or compromise my integrity.”
Told by the chair to speed up her testimony, she invoked the president’s name.
“Vaccine policy must be guided by credible data, not predetermined outcomes,” she told the lawmakers.
“As I wrote in my September 4th Wall Street Journal op-ed, I agree with President Trump. We should not hesitate to ask for proof about our vaccines. And I also agree with his most recent comments that vaccines are not controversial because they work.”
“Demanding evidence is exactly what I was doing when I insisted CDC recommendations be based on credible science,” she continued. “I was never misaligned with the administration priorities. The goals Secretary Kennedy recently cited publicly, protecting the public from threats, building infrastructure, modernizing systems, investing in the workforce, and enhancing scientific rigor were the same priorities I articulated at my confirmation hearing and began advancing during my short tenure.”
“I remain supportive of those priorities,” she added before warning, “The question is whether they can be achieved without the expertise required at CDC. Regarding trustworthiness, I cannot define that word for Secretary Kennedy."
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