On July 29, the Senate confirmed Dr. Susan Monarez, Donald Trump’s nominee, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two days later, Monarez was sworn into office — only to be ousted 27 days later after clashing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Three weeks after that, she had an opportunity to testify before a Senate panel, where she managed to make RFK Jr. look even worse. As The New York Times reported, Monarez “repeatedly said that [Kennedy] had abandoned science in dismantling longstanding vaccine policy and demanding adherence to his views.”
But while all of her revelations were notable, certain elements stood out. From the Times report:
Dr. Monarez provided more details about the events that led to her firing. She told senators that she met with Mr. Kennedy three times on Aug. 25. In those meetings, she testified that Mr. Kennedy asked her to fire vaccine scientists without cause. She said he also asked her to pledge that she would approve in advance the forthcoming recommendations of the C.D.C.’s influential vaccine committee without having seen them.
“He just wanted blanket approval,” Monarez testified, referring to decisions that hadn’t been made yet. She added that Kennedy told her either to follow his order or resign.
Later, at the same Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing, the ousted CDC chief told Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin that RFK Jr. specifically instructed Monarez not to communicate with members of Congress.
“I was directed to only work with political appointees,” she said, referring to Trump appointees, rather than career officials at the agency.
Or put another way, if this was correct, Kennedy didn’t want the Senate-approved CDC director communicating with senators who have oversight authority over the CDC. Q: What was RFK Jr's reaction when you raised the need to consult scientific evidence?Former CDC Director: He stated there was no scientific evidence associated with vaccines. He called CDC the most corrupt agency in the world. He said that CDC employees were horrible people, were killing children In case that weren’t quite enough, Monarez — who, again, was Trump’s nominee to lead the CDC — testified that Kennedy told her there was no scientific evidence associated with vaccines and that he believed CDC scientists were responsible for harming children. I don’t know what the standard might be in Congress for impeaching a health secretary, but Monarez’s testimony should probably at least initiate some conversation among lawmakers.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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