CDC head's lawyers deny firing after vaccine clash — and vow 'she will not resign'

Lawyers who represent the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's director responded on Wednesday to allegations that their client had been fired from her job.

Earlier in the day, the Department of Health and Human Services posted on X saying that Dr. Susan Monarez was "no longer" CDC director. The Washington Post followed up on the post and reported that Monarez was removed because she refused to change the CDC's vaccine standards without consulting advisors.

Attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, who represent Monarez, replied to the news in a statement posted on social media.

"First, it was the independent advisory committees and career experts," the joint statement reads. "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."

"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," the statement continued. "For that, she has been targeted."

"Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign," it adds.