OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:53 PM – Wednesday, July 30, 2025
The Senate has confirmed Susan Monarez as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), appointing a “seasoned” government scientist to lead the agency amid sweeping reforms initiated by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Monarez, 50, is President Donald Trump’s second nominee for the position and was confirmed by a predominantly party-line vote of 51 to 47 on Tuesday.
A new law passed in 2023, the CDC Leadership Accountability Act, now requires Senate confirmation for the position of CDC Director. Monarez is the first person to go through that process. Before that law, CDC directors could be appointed without Senate approval and often served in an acting capacity.
The Trump administration is poised to reduce the agency’s budget by nearly 50% in 2026, resulting in the elimination of hundreds of staff positions. However, medical professionals and “public health experts” have criticized Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “compromising the agency” by revising vaccine guidelines and dismissing the entirety of a key advisory committee.
Nonetheless, many have highlighted how medical professionals and health experts are often funded by pharmaceutical companies through a variety of legal and regulated mechanisms. This funding can take many forms, raising concerns about conflicts of interest.
Kennedy unilaterally removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), installing his own appointees in their place. While CDC policy asks that the director formally approve ACIP recommendations, Kennedy has assumed that responsibility himself — as there has been no CDC director up until now.
Last month, Kennedy’s newly constituted ACIP voted to eliminate thimerosal—a mercury-containing compound once widely used as a preservative—from flu vaccines. Kennedy signed off on the recommendation last week but has yet to endorse another measure from the same meeting encouraging universal influenza vaccination.
Thimerosal is an organomercury compound, approximately 49% mercury by weight. In 1999, the U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended removing thimerosal from childhood vaccines to reduce overall mercury exposure.
He also circumvented established agency protocols by unilaterally declaring that the HHS would cease recommending mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for healthy pregnant women and children.
Monarez brings nearly two decades of experience in federal service, having held positions across multiple agencies, though she had no prior affiliation with the CDC before being appointed acting director early in Trump’s second term.
Before assuming her leadership role at the CDC, Monarez served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. In addition, earlier in her career, she was a science and technology policy fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, marking her entry into public service.
Trump selected Monarez for the post after his initial nominee, former Florida GOP Representative Dave Weldon, failed to secure sufficient support among Senate Republicans.
During her confirmation hearing, Monarez also pandered to Democrat senators, asserting that “vaccines save lives,” while also claiming that there is no credible scientific evidence linking vaccines to autism. However, she navigated the proceedings cautiously, avoiding direct criticisms of her future boss.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to leave a comment!Sponsored Content Below