Trump Fires CDC Director Monarez Amid Vaccine Policy Clash

President Donald Trump fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign, citing her lack of alignment with his administration's mission to "Make America Healthy Again," according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Monarez's dismissal sparked the resignation of three other top CDC officials who opposed the anti-vaccine policies and misinformation promoted by Trump and his team, including firing the expert vaccine advisory panel and replacing it with anti-vaccine activists. The departing officials and CDC employees criticized the administration's approach as unscientific, with one official stating that Monarez was targeted for standing up for science. Following the firing, CDC workers in Atlanta staged protests expressing their dissent. Jim O’Neill, currently deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, was named interim CDC leader. The incident highlights deep divisions within the CDC and the administration's hardline stance on public health policies.