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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez has left the agency less than a month after being sworn in, amid the resignation of four senior officials who also resigned over vaccine policy tensions.

Monarez’s attorneys said she is challenging her ouster, accusing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of targeting her for rejecting “unscientific directives,” Reuters reported. 

“Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign,” lawyers Mark S. Zaid and Abbe David Lowell said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' account on X shared a post about Monarez's exit, saying: "We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people. @SecKennedy has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad."

CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry and Immunization Center Director Demetre Daskalakis have resigned, citing the rise in health misinformation, attacks on science, and budget cuts. 

Infectious Diseases Director Daniel Jernigan and Public Health Data Director Jen Layden also stepped down. Houry wrote that overstated risks and misinformation have fueled record measles cases and even a violent attack on the CDC.

The White House’s 2026 budget proposed cutting CDC funding by $3.6 billion, while Kennedy had already eliminated 2,400 jobs and rehired 700. Daskalakis said he could not serve amid the “ongoing weaponizing of public health.”

The CDC has faced mounting strain under Kennedy, including a shooting at its Atlanta headquarters. Former CDC official Fiona Havers called the latest resignations “devastating,” saying the departed leaders had shielded scientists from political attacks.

Kennedy has rolled back vaccine policies, withdrawing COVID shot recommendations for children and pregnant women, and firing all members of the CDC vaccine advisory panel in June, replacing them with hand-picked advisers, including vaccine skeptics. 

On Wednesday, he announced further changes to COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and stated that autism policy announcements are expected in September.

Monarez, a federal scientist, was confirmed on July 29 after being nominated by U.S. President Trump and sworn in by Kennedy on July 31. She succeeded Trump’s withdrawn pick, former congressman and vaccine critic Dave Weldon. 

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