Former CDC Director Susan Monarez and former Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry will appear Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) to discuss recent changes at the agency, including both of their abrupt departures.
Kennedy fired Monarez, claiming she was not aligned with the Trump administration’s health agenda. Houry resigned after alleging political interference in the agency’s work.
After the resignations and firing, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate HELP committee, called for oversight into the situation. Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month, during which he was grilled by both sides of the aisle about the chaos at his agency.
In testimony obtained by The Hill, Monarez said her exit from CDC came down to integrity.
“I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity. But that line does not disappear with me. It now runs through every parent deciding whether to vaccinate a child, every physician counseling a patient, and every American who demands accountability,” she wrote.
“I could have kept the office and the title. But I would have lost the one thing that cannot be replaced: my integrity.”
Both Monarez and Houry say in their testimonies that Kennedy pressured the CDC director to just give “rubber stamps” on Kennedy’s decisions and ignore expertise and evidence, including choices about recommendations and firing scientific experts.
In her own recollection, Houry says the CDC was prepared to support President Trump’s health priorities, but Kennedy’s ascension weakened the agency’s ability to do so.
Houry argued in her testimony that Kennedy’s direction will not Make America Health Again, pointing to staffing cuts at offices focused on tobacco, HIV, oral health and screenings for newborns.
“Our nation is not on track to be healthier under this approach. Quite to the contrary, our nation is on track to see drastic increases in preventable diseases and declines in our health if something doesn’t change soon,” writes Houry.
“And we must remember that public health is not just about wellness, it is a pillar of national security. Weakening it leaves us vulnerable to outbreaks that destabilize communities, cripple economies, and undermine readiness.”
