The White House has chosen a deputy of Robert F Kennedy Jr to serve as the acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a decision that comes as the standoff over the firing of director Susan Monarez has deepened, with Monarez’s lawyers claiming she will not depart unless Donald Trump himself removes her.
A White House official confirmed to the Guardian that Jim O’Neill, currently the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had been selected to temporarily lead the public health agency, giving Kennedy an ally in his efforts to overhaul US vaccine policy.
Unlike Monarez, O’Neill, a former investment executive, does not have a medical or scientific background. He served as a former speechwriter for the health department during the George W Bush administration, and went on to work for the tech investor and conservative megadonor Peter Thiel.
The decision to remove Monarez has sparked further turmoil within the CDC, four of its other senior leaders resigning over what they condemned as political interference in their work, budget cuts and the spread of misinformation under the Trump administration.
Monarez, an infectious disease specialist who was confirmed as CDC chief just a month ago, was fired on Wednesday in a statement from the HHS, which gave no reason for the departure at the time.
However, the apparently ousted director has refused to be removed. Her lawyers claim that while the White House has said that she is “not aligned with the president’s agenda”, only the president himself can dismiss her.
“As a presidential appointee, Senate-confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her,” Monarez’s lawyer Mark Zaid posted on Bluesky.
“For this reason, we reject notification Dr Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position.”
A spokesperson for Trump, Kush Desai, said: “As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again. Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”
The CDC is ultimately overseen by Kennedy, who is known for founding an anti-vaccine group and in his current role has cut funding for medical research, removed scientific advisers and on Wednesday restricted the use of Covid vaccines for Americans.
“First it was independent advisory committees and career experts. Then it was the dismissal of seasoned scientists. Now, Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk,” Monarez’s lawyers said in a statement.
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.”
Monarez and Kennedy clashed over vaccine policy, while CDC leaders were angry with how the administration handled a deadly situation earlier this month when a gunman fired upon the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta, killing a police officer, according to the New York Times.
The senior officials to resign from the CDC are Debra Houry, the chief medical officer; Daniel Jernigan, the vaccine safety chief; Jennifer Layden, head of the office for public health data; and Demetre Daskalakis, who ran the office that issues vaccine recommendations.
In interviews on Thursday with Reuters and the Washington Post, Jernigan said the last straw for him was being forced to re-examine the false claim that vaccines cause autism. Jernigan, whose department oversaw the vaccine safety group, said that he was “asked to revise and to review and change studies” about vaccine safety data by Kennedy’s aides, Lyn Redwood and David Geier, anti-vaccine activists who promote a debunked link with autism.
On social media, Bernie Sanders, an independent US senator who serves as the ranking member on the health, education, labor and pensions committee, said that the attempt to fire Monarez was “outrageous” and demanded a hearing.
“Vaccines save lives. Period,” Sanders said on X.
Senator Elizabeth Warren responded to the news that O’Neill had been named acting director by drawing attention to his confirmation hearing in May, when he told the Massachusetts Democrat that Robert F Kennedy Jr was “doing a great job” dealing with a deadly measles outbreak in Texas.
Warren shared a clip on social media of O’Neill making those remarks, with the comment: “Donald Trump is purging the CDC leadership and putting in charge the guy who thought RFK Jr was doing a ‘great job’ after measles cases hit a record high. These fools can’t be trusted with your health.”
O’Neill’s previous work included helping establish the Thiel Fellowship, a two-year program for young people who agree to skip or drop out of college in exchange for a $200,000 grant.
When O’Neill, a critic of the CDC’s work in combatting the Covid pandemic, was sworn in as deputy health secretary in June, Robert F Kennedy Jr cited his “extensive experience in Silicon Valley and government”, not any public health experience or scientific credentials.
Robert Mackey contributed reporting