Jim O'Neill will become acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after officials removed Susan Monarez following conflicts with the administration over policies that contradict scientific evidence. Monarez disputed directives she judged illegal or contrary to science and refused to rubber-stamp unscientific orders or fire health experts, prompting several senior CDC officials to resign in solidarity. Monarez served for less than a month. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a former anti-vaccination activist, has reshaped the agency, purged a vaccine advisory board and moved to replace advisers with individuals aligned to his views.
Sources close to Monarez have told news agencies that she butted heads with Kennedy over questions of misinformation and vaccine policy. She said that there were two things she would never do in the job. One was anything that was deemed illegal, and the second was anything that she felt flew in the face of science, and she said she was asked to do both of those, Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC, told reporters.
The administration of United States President Donald Trump is expected to install Jim O'Neill as acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), replacing a director who clashed with the White House over policies that defy scientific evidence. News outlets, including The Washington Post and The Associated Press, reported O'Neill's selection after Trump officials said they removed CDC Director Susan Monarez.
Several high-level CDC officials resigned from their positions in solidarity with Monarez and in defiance of what they depicted as the undermining of scientific expertise as a basis of public health policy. Monarez said that she refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts. She had been in her job for less than a month. Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccination activist before joining the Trump administration, has moved to reshape the agency and expel advisers who do not align with his views.
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