According to the now-fired director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. grew alarmed by what she might tell members of Congress and warned her she was barred from speaking to them.
Speaking before a Senate panel on Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Susan Monarez, a microbiologist, was asked by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) about her relationship with the Donald Trump appointee who has no medical background, Baldwin began with, “Secretary Kennedy has consistently failed to provide information to Congress as he continues to undermine public health from his role in the Trump administration. You've heard from me before having Secretary Kennedy in charge of the health of Americans is dangerous. And what we're hearing from you today really underscores this for me, doctor, is when your confirmation was before the Senate, I had my doubts that anyone in your position would be able to stick to the science and stand up to Secretary Kennedy as he compromises the health of the country in order to further his own ideas and agenda. I am pleased to see that you and other senior members of the CDC, like Dr. Houry, did stand up to him when the time came.”
Bringing up reports of censorship coming down from the new political appointees installed by Kennedy, Baldwin asked, “Doctor, did Secretary Kennedy ever give you instructions on how you should interact with members of Congress?”
“He did,” she replied. “After the morning meeting, I became very concerned. I was alarmed that I was not being consistent. I would not be consistent with those areas that I had committed to this committee, that I would do transparency, integrity. And I had reached out to the committee to share my concerns.”
“Secretary Kennedy became aware of that, and he was very concerned that I had spoken to members of Congress, and he told me I was never to do it again,” she added.
- YouTube youtu.be
