Two former Centers for Disease Control (CDC) leaders testified at a fiery congressional hearing on Wednesday – taking aim at Robert F Kennedy Jr’s sweeping changes to the agency and the country’s public health system.
Susan Monarez, the CDC director who was fired after less than a month, and Debra Houry, the chief medical officer who resigned after a decade at the agency, faced lawmakers on the Senate health, education, labor and pensions (Help) committee.
The hearing, chaired by Republican senator Bill Cassidy, saw senators from both sides of the aisle question the impact of RFK Jr’s dismantling of vaccine standards. Here are the main takeaways.
Monarez said she was fired for not complying with RFK Jr’s vaccine agenda
Monarez said Kennedy demanded “blanket approval” of “each and every one of the recommendations” in the upcoming vaccine advisory panel meeting. Monarez claimed Kennedy said if she could not do that she would need to resign.
“I did not resign, and that is when he told me he had already spoken to the White House about having me removed,” Monarez said.
When Bernie Sanders asked Monarez why she refused to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without seeing them or the evidence behind them, she explained it was not negotiable.
“I refused to do it because I have built a career on scientific integrity, and my worst fear was that I would then be in a position of approving something that would reduce access of life-saving vaccines to children and others who need them,” she said.
Monarez and Houry raised flags about the impact of Kennedy’s vaccine agenda
An Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on Thursday loomed over the hearing. RFK Jr has replaced many members of the panel with other people who question the science of government recommended vaccines.
“I know that the medical community has raised concerns about whether or not, again, they have the commensurate backgrounds to be able to understand the data and the evidence and to evaluate it appropriately,” Monarez said.
Monarez also said there was a risk of vaccines being restricted without rigorous review. She continued: “The stakes are not theoretical. We already have seen the largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, which claimed the lives of two children. If vaccine protections are weakened, preventable diseases will return.”
Meanwhile Houry said she had “significant concerns” about the ACIP meeting as the public had not been able to weigh in.
The pair said the prospect of future pandemics is what keeps them up at night. Answering a question by Democratic senator John Hickenlooper, Monarez and Houry expressed concern over how the US might respond to future pandemics.
“I don’t believe that we’ll be prepared,” Monarez said. Houry echoed similar sentiments, saying: “I’m concerned about the future of [the] CDC and public health in our country.”
Monarez said RFK Jr had expressed disdain for CDC employees
“He called, in that context, [the] CDC the ‘most corrupt federal agency in the world’,” Monarez said. “He said that CDC employees were killing children and they don’t care. He said CDC employees were bought by the pharmaceutical industry. He said the CDC forced people to wear masks and social distance like a dictatorship.”
Monarez said the health secretary did not express condolences for David Rose, the police officer who was killed during the recent shooting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. The perpetrator had blamed the Covid vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.
Monarez and Houry said politics is driving changes to vaccine recommendations
When asked about the public implications of health decisions made by political staff, Monarez expressed concern. She added: “These are important and highly technical discussions that have life-saving implications.”
Similarly, Houry accused Kennedy of “politicizing” the CDC, saying that the secretary “censored CDC science, politicized its processes and stripped leaders of independence”.
In response to a question about career scientists who have been excluded from the director’s office, Houry said that nearly everyone who left is political.
“A level down we do have center directors, although 80% are now acting because they’ve been fired, resigned or retired,” Houry said.
Monarez said that Kennedy deemed her untrustworthy for expressing her concerns
Monarez laid out a timeline of events that resulted in her firing.
In a meeting with Kennedy, Monarez claimed he was “very concerned” that she had spoken to members of the Help committee about what was being asked of her, with regard to approving vaccine recommendations and firing career officials.
“He told me I was never to do it again,” Monarez said.
When Republican senator Ashley Moody questioned whether Monarez’s decision to contact the committee chair was calculated, Senator Cassidy pushed back.
“It is entirely appropriate for someone with oversight concerns to contact my office, or me, or, frankly, any of us,” he said. “Upon receiving outreach from Dr Monarez, I contacted both the secretary and the White House to inquire what was happening and to express concerns about what was alleged.”
