GOP senator helps fired CDC director build damning case against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The former director for the Centers for Disease Control testified that she was fired after refusing to pre-approve recommendations from a vaccines oversight panel without consulting science or evidence.

Dr. Susan Monarez testified Wednesday morning morning before Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), where she told committee chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked her to commit to signing off on forthcoming recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

"Brieflyin the first meeting, he askedme to commit to firingscientists or resign," Monarez said. "He askedme to pre-commit to signing offon each and one of theforthcoming ACIPrecommendations, regardless ofwhether or not there wasscientific evidence."

Cassidy, a physician who has drawn criticism for his vote to confirm Kennedy, asked the former CDC director whether she had any foreshadowing about those recommendations, but she said the HHS secretary did not discuss that in any substance.

"He just wanted blanketapproval, okay, and if I couldnot commit to approval of eachand every one of therecommendations, that would beforthcoming I needed to resign," Monarez said. "I did not resign, and that iswhen he told me he had alreadyspoken to the White House houseabout having me removed."

Kennedy also made clear that ACIP, which will meet Thursday and Friday, would be changing its recommendations for childhood vaccines, she testified, and she told Cassidy that President Donald Trump was supportive.

"In that morning meeting hesaid that the childhood vaccineschedule would be changingstarting in September," Monarez said, "and Ineeded to be on board with it ... Hedid say that he had spoken tothe president. He spoke to thepresident every day aboutchanging the childhood vaccineschedule."

Cassidy then asked whether Kennedy had asked her to speak to anyone outside of HHS, and she said that he had.

"In the second meetingthat day, he indicated that oneof his colleagues orcollaborators, I don't know whatthe relationship is, was cominginto town the following week,and he wanted me to meet withthat person," Monarez said. "The person was named Aaron Siri."

Cassidy asked whether that was the same individual who reportedly petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for the polio vaccine, and she agreed that she had also seen that public reporting, but she disputed Kennedy's claim that she was biased against changing the vaccine recommendations.

"He did not have any data orscience to to point to," she said. "As amatter of fact, we got into anexchange where I had suggestedthat I would be open to changingchildhood vaccine schedules ifthe evidence or science weresupportive, and he respondedthat there was no science orevidence associated with thechildhood vaccine schedule, andhe elaborated that CDC had never collected the science or the data to make it available related to the safety and efficacy."

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