If Trump does not dismiss RFK Jr., he must at least restore the CDC director

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have long been the most prestigious public health agency in the world. The CDC has led global efforts to eliminate smallpox, fight HIV / AIDS, move the perception / use of the public of tobacco products and considerably reduce dental care problems by promoting the use of fluoride in drinking water. Its most recent success was the reduction in the impact of dependence on opioids, although we still suffer from the most recent opioid epidemic.

Now the CDC is subject to serious attacks by the very people who are supposed to be responsible for improving the health of the nation. The secretary of health and social services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directs this assault. A lawyer in an environment and defender without health experience, Kennedy is a well -known vaccination critic. His confirmation as secretary of the HHS was very controversial, but he was approved after giving insurance that he would follow the advice of his highly qualified scientists. He broke all the promises he made to members of the congress and the public.

This week, he tried to oust the director of the CDC, Susan Monarez, who was confirmed by the Senate on July 29, according to party parts. Its status is now not clear. As a person reinforced by the Senate, Monarez can only be dismissed by the president. While President Trump’s press secretary said it happened, Monarez lawyers challenge him.

A CDC that works well is essential to guarantee the health and well-being that all individuals and communities in the United States want and deserve. Trump is expected to reverse Kennedy’s rushed actions by keeping Monarez and supporting a solid and science -based CDC. In addition to supporting the CDC, the restoration of Monarez will serve as a desperately necessary check on the power of Kennedy. If Trump does not evoke Kennedy, like many – including my organization, the American public Health Association – asked him, at least he needs to brake the secretary and remind him of the commitments he made in the Senate during his own hearings.

Since having become secretary, Kennedy has frequently articulated anti-vaccine ideology, promoted to alternative therapies dangerous for measles, published a defective relationship on the health of children and proposed an absurd reorganization of the Ministry of Health and Social Services which empty the CDC prevention programs, just to name just a few.

He also carried out a blind personnel dismissal, proposed a 56% reduction in the CDC budget for financial year 2026 and created massive ineffectures in program operations by freezing existing funding. Staff were prohibited from sharing routine health information with the public and data systems have been changed. Important centers on chronic diseases, injury prevention and environmental health have been seriously reduced. The future of important screening programs for breast cancer and cervical cancer and newborn genetic diseases is not clear. The programs that treat the main causes of death, such as tobacco and armed violence, have been essentially eliminated.

However, the expectation was that the administration would endeavor to strengthen the infectious capacity of the agency’s disease. However, the actions of Kennedy and his newly hired support staff have undermined this promise. He dismissed the 17 members of the Vaccination Practices Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations based on evidence for the use of vaccines, and replaced them by handpicked allies.

Two weeks ago, the CDC was dismissed by a lonely shooter who was motivated by disinformation around the vaccination coded. More than 500 laps have been dismissed on at least four agency buildings. Tragically, a local police officer who responded to the shooting was killed. Kennedy’s response was both delayed and inadequate. Mental health and other support for CDC staff have also been inadequate. Even President Trump has not yet declared the attack on a federal installation.

The secretary’s most extreme act occurred earlier this week when he suddenly forced Monarez, after managing the CDC for only three and a half weeks. Kennedy moved to withdraw Monarez because she would not sign the non -scientific recommendation on the use of updated covored vaccines that the secretary supported. She also opposed Kennedy on her desire to dismiss several leaders of the agency. As director of the CDC, Monarez was responsible for approving the use of coastal vaccines on the basis of the best available sciences. It was the last step in the therapeutic approval process to ensure that therapies approved by the FDA are used on the right populations. It is concern that Kennedy, without health experience, wants to undermine the regulatory process designed to protect public health.

In support of Monarerez, and to protest against the agency mine, three senior CDC managers resigned to protest: Deb Houry, chief doctor and deputy director of the program and science; Dan Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases; and Demeter Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. In addition, Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health, Surveillance and Technology, also submitted her resignation. The four leaders have since warned America to decrease the agency’s capacity to promote public health, as well as the way Kennedy contributes to loss of confidence. We have to listen to them.

The CDC becomes more dysfunctional every day. The rift that developed between the political leadership of the department and professional career staff created an intolerable environment, which several career staff have described me as “toxic”. In addition, career staff has lost their confidence in the secretary and believes that they are unable to maintain their scientific independence. Changes in the way it is endowed, funded and exploits makes it unable to protect the nation in its major function to respond to national security threats. The scientific recommendations of CDCs lead national standards for the delivery of vaccines and other best public health practices. The CDC finances the large amount of local public health programming for public and local health practices and is the expert consultant for many rare diseases. Its laboratories are the reference laboratory for many medical and environmental tests. It also plays an essential role in bioterrorism and the country’s environmental intervention capacity.

It is an alarming period for those of us who work in medicine. For the good of the CDC and American health, Monarez must be immediately reinstated in the CDC.

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, is Executive Director of the American Public Health Association.