WASHINGTON – Susan Monarez, the former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is set to testify Wednesday, claiming that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed her for her refusal to approve new vaccine recommendations without first assessing the scientific evidence supporting the guidance.
Monarez will appear before the Senate health committee to discuss her firing, just weeks into the job, over disagreement on vaccine policies.
Her anticipated testimony, which was acquired by The Associated Press, will indicate that Kennedy presented her with a choice: “Preapprove” the new vaccine recommendations from a controversial CDC advisory panel, which Kennedy has populated with certain medical experts skeptical of vaccine safety, or face termination. This panel is slated to vote on the new vaccine guidelines later in the week.
Monarez will state, “Even under pressure, I could not replace evidence with ideology or compromise my integrity. Vaccine policy must be guided by credible data, not predetermined outcomes.”
She will also testify that she was “fired for holding the line on scientific integrity.”
Monarez also plans to say that Kennedy directed her to oust a number of high-ranking CDC officials without cause, according to the testimony.
The Senate hearing will address the consequences of the disruption at the nation’s primary public health agency, which holds responsibility for issuing vaccine recommendations to the public, particularly regarding its impact on children’s health. Additionally, it provides a platform for Monarez and the former Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who will also testify, to counter several of Kennedy’s controversial statements concerning their final period at the agency.
Kennedy has denied Monarez’s accusations that he ordered “rubber-stamped” vaccine recommendations.
Kennedy has asserted that Monarez confessed to being “untrustworthy,” a claim she has denied via her lawyer. He did concede during a heated Senate session earlier this month that he instructed Monarez to dismiss several senior officials at the CDC.
The Senate hearing is scheduled just a day before the vaccine panel’s two-day meeting in Atlanta to deliberate on vaccines for COVID-19, hepatitis B, and chickenpox. The panel’s voting direction on the recommendations remains uncertain, though some members have questioned the necessity of hepatitis B shots for newborns and have suggested that COVID-19 guidelines should be more limited.
The CDC director must endorse those recommendations before they become official. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, now serving as the CDC’s acting director, will be responsible for that.
Monarez and Houry are expected to face tense questions from Republicans over the CDC’s vaccine recommendations and COVID-19 policies. Democrats, meanwhile, are likely to seek more information on Kennedy’s approach to vaccines.
The health committee’s hearing will be overseen by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who cast a key vote for Kennedy’s confirmation. He has expressed concern about “serious allegations” at the CDC and has called for oversight, without blaming Kennedy.
——
Associated Press writers Mike Stobbe in New York and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
