Susan Monarez, the veteran federal government scientist appointed as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in late July, has been removed from her post just a few weeks into her term, multiple media outlets reported.
Neither the CDC nor the Department of Health and Human Services immediately responded to TIME’s inquiry for comment. The first broke the news.
The precise reason for Monarez’s dismissal has not yet been clarified. President Donald Trump nominated Monarez following the withdrawal of his initial selection, former Republican congressman David Weldon. Her departure closely follows a shooting incident at the CDC Atlanta campus on August 8th, which resulted in the death of DeKalb County police officer David Rose.
Monarez, who secured Senate endorsement in a partisan vote, was the inaugural director of the CDC to undergo confirmation by the upper chamber and the only non-physician to ever lead the agency. When she assumed her duties on July 31st, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Monarez “a public health expert with undeniable scientific qualifications.”
“I possess complete confidence in her capacity to re-establish the CDC’s standing as the most trusted authority in public health and to bolster our nation’s preparedness to address infectious diseases and biosecurity threats,” Kennedy stated at the time.
Before her official confirmation as CDC Director, Monarez served as the interim Director for the agency and Deputy Director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
This report is ongoing and will receive further updates.
