The White House confirmed Wednesday the dismissal of the director of the United States' top health agency, the latest twist in a standoff between the scientist and Donald Trump's vaccine-sceptic health minister.
The three-act drama that has rocked the American press began with the announcement of this departure by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
But Susan Monarez, who has been in office for less than a month as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), quickly denied the claim and accused the secretary of trying to remove her to pursue a policy "endangering the lives of millions of Americans."
"Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president's agenda," White House press secretary Kush Desai said in a statement to AFP. "Because Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing the Department of Health and Human Services of her intention to do so, the White House has dismissed Ms. Monarez from her position."
– Pressures –
The official "has neither resigned nor received any notification from the White House indicating that she has been fired," her lawyers said earlier in a statement sent to AFP.
"As a person of integrity and dedication to science, she will not resign," they added, accusing Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who has been criticized for his anti-vaccine stance, of "using public health for political ends."
According to them, the minister tried to remove Ms. Monarez after she "refused to validate unscientific and dangerous directives and to dismiss experts."
Hours earlier, the Department of Health announced that Monarez was "no longer director" of the CDC in a short message on X. "We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people," it added.
The news, first reported by the Washington Post, comes amid a major overhaul of US vaccination policy, spearheaded by RFK Jr.
"Enough is enough," a senior CDC official, Demetre Daskalakis, reacted to X. In a long message, the latter announced his resignation, denouncing the pressure from the new American administration to "generate policies and documents that do not reflect scientific reality."
According to US media reports, other senior officials of the agency did the same.
– Armed attack –
Since taking office, Robert Kennedy Jr. has initiated a sweeping overhaul of U.S. health agencies and the country's vaccine policy, firing leading experts, restricting access to Covid-19 vaccines, and cutting funding for the development of new ones.
Measures often taken against scientific consensus and criticized by outside experts.
Susan Monarez was confirmed at the end of July by the US Senate as head of the CDC, one of the health agencies overseen by the Ministry of Health.
His nomination was actually a second choice, as the White House had to abandon its first candidate, David Weldon, a former elected official and doctor known for his vaccine skepticism, in March for fear that he would lack the necessary votes in Congress.
Monarez's abrupt departure comes amid a crisis at the CDC, which was the target of an armed attack in early August by a man who strongly opposed the Covid-19 vaccine.
Hundreds of employees and former employees of health agencies subsequently signed an open letter accusing RFK Jr. of endangering them by spreading false information, particularly about vaccines.
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