The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the nation’s most vital public health agencies, is facing a period of extraordinary upheaval and uncertainty. On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Georgia state leaders gathered at the State Capitol in Atlanta for a roundtable discussion, addressing the recent cascade of changes at the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters. The event took place against a backdrop of staff cuts, high-profile resignations, and the lingering trauma from a deadly shooting on the agency’s campus—an incident that has left employees shaken and a memorial to a fallen police officer standing just outside the building, according to Atlanta News First and WRDW/WAGT.
For those working at the CDC, the past few weeks have been nothing short of turbulent. Employees, already coping with the emotional aftermath of the shooting, were recently informed that they must return to in-person work on September 15, 2025. This announcement has added another layer of anxiety for a workforce still reeling from both personal and professional losses.
The turmoil at the CDC reached a fever pitch last Thursday when the White House moved to oust Susan Monarez, the agency’s director, less than a month after she was sworn in. As reported by the Associated Press, the decision to remove Monarez was made without public explanation. In her place, Jim O’Neill—recently appointed as the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—was named interim director. O’Neill, a former investment executive who previously served at HHS under President George W. Bush, notably lacks a medical background, a fact that has raised eyebrows across the public health community.
The abrupt leadership change did not go unnoticed within the CDC. In a dramatic show of protest, three senior officials—Dr. Debra Houry, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, and Dr. Daniel Jernigan—resigned from their posts. According to the Associated Press, these officials returned to the Atlanta campus on Thursday to collect their belongings, greeted by hundreds of supporters who gathered to applaud them. The crowd offered bouquets of flowers and chanted, “USA not RFK,” a pointed reference to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose controversial stance on vaccines has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over the CDC’s direction.
Dr. Daskalakis, who resigned as head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, expressed his deep concern for public health, stating, “I fear that children will be hurt by poor decision making around vaccines.” Dr. Houry, the agency’s former deputy director and chief medical officer, told the Associated Press that Monarez had “tried to guard against political meddling in scientific research and health recommendations.” She added, “We were going to see if she was able to weather the storm. And when she was not, we were done.”
Susan Monarez herself is contesting her dismissal, which she alleges was politically motivated. Her lawyers have stated that she refused “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.” Monarez is fighting the decision, arguing that her removal must come directly from President Donald Trump, who nominated her in March. The White House has offered only a terse explanation, saying Monarez was “not aligned with” President Trump’s agenda.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current HHS Secretary, has become a central figure in the CDC’s unfolding drama. Kennedy, a longtime leader in the anti-vaccine movement, has made it clear that further changes may be on the horizon. At a news conference in Texas, he remarked, “There’s a lot of trouble at the CDC and it’s going to require getting rid of some people over the long term, in order for us to change the institutional culture.”
The leadership shake-up has sparked rare bipartisan alarm on Capitol Hill. Two Republican senators have called for congressional oversight, while some Democrats have demanded Kennedy’s removal. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who heads the Senate committee overseeing Kennedy’s department, voiced concerns about the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The panel, now reshaped by Kennedy with vaccine skeptics, is set to meet on September 18 to vote on recommendations for standard childhood vaccines, including those for measles, hepatitis, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox. Cassidy stated, “Serious allegations have been made about the meeting agenda, membership, and lack of scientific process being followed. These decisions directly impact children’s health and the meeting should not occur until significant oversight has been conducted.”
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is a critical body whose recommendations influence doctors, school systems, and insurers nationwide. Kennedy’s decision to dismiss the entire previous panel and replace them with vaccine skeptics, as reported by the Associated Press, has alarmed many in the medical and scientific communities. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, summed up the growing concern: “The scientific community is beginning to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘No way.’”
Departing officials have painted a picture of a CDC under siege—not only from external political pressures but also from internal policy shifts. Dr. Houry described Monarez’s efforts to ensure transparency and scientific rigor, such as pushing for evidence reviews to be posted ahead of committee meetings and advocating for public comment periods. However, these efforts were reportedly blocked by HHS leadership.
The CDC’s challenges are not new. The agency has long been at the center of controversy, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it struggled to balance political demands with public health imperatives. The current crisis, however, feels especially acute. Monarez’s ouster makes her the shortest-serving CDC director since the agency’s founding in 1946, exacerbating a leadership vacuum that has persisted since President Trump took office. His initial pick for CDC director, Dr. David Weldon—a vaccine skeptic—was withdrawn earlier this year, paving the way for Monarez’s brief tenure.
Looking ahead, Secretary Kennedy is scheduled to testify before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, September 4, to discuss his health care agenda in light of the recent changes at the CDC. Meanwhile, CDC employees and public health advocates are left wondering what the future holds. As Dr. Daskalakis put it bluntly, “You cannot dismantle public health and expect it to still work.”
As the CDC grapples with leadership changes, policy disputes, and the emotional fallout from violence on its campus, the nation’s public health remains at a crossroads. The coming weeks—marked by key Senate hearings and pivotal vaccine policy decisions—will likely determine not just the agency’s direction, but the very fabric of American public health for years to come.
