Washington Post Susan Monarez, who was fired last month as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told senators Wednesday that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressured her to change the childhood vaccine schedule and told her he was also speaking to President Donald Trump about the issue.
Monarez told members of the Senate health committee that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity” and pushing back on demands from Kennedy to preapprove vaccine recommendations from his advisers who have criticized vaccines. Testifying at a hearing earlier this month, Kennedy told senators that Monarez was lying, while conceding that he asked her to fire senior staff.
Monarez, in her first public appearance since her firing, said Kennedy told her that “every day” he was speaking to Trump about changing the childhood vaccine schedule and pressed her to back him.
Debra Houry, one of three top CDC officials who resigned in protest of Monarez’s firing, is also testifying. She said she had to push back against Kennedy for trying to disseminate misleading medical claims through the CDC.