"This is unacceptable": Former CDC directors condemn RFK's upheaval
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a cabinet meeting on Aug. 26 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday warned about increasing threats to public health from the Trump administration's political interference at the agency.
Why it matters: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s takeover of health policy, funding and research "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced," the directors wrote in a New York Times guest essay.
Catch up quick: The Trump administration ousted CDC director Susan Monarez last month after she refused to quit. The White House said she was "not aligned" with the "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.
- Several top CDC officials also resigned following her departure.
- Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur Jim O'Neill, who advocated for unproven COVID treatments, was named acting CDC director.
State of play: The nine directors' tenure spans from 1977 to this year, and they have collectively spent more than 100 years working at the CDC.
- They worked in either permanent or acting capacities under Republican and Democratic administrations from former President Carter to President Trump.
What they're saying: "The loss of Dr. Monarez and other top leaders will make it far more difficult for C.D.C. to do what it has done for about 80 years, to work around the clock to protect Americans from threats to their lives and health," the directors wrote.
- "During our respective C.D.C. tenures, we did not always agree with our leaders, but they never gave us reason to doubt that they would rely on data-driven insights for our protection, or that they would support public health workers," they also wrote.
A White House spokesperson referred Axios on Monday to O'Neill's Friday statement: "Public health is a noble calling," he wrote. "When it is driven by transparent data and rigorous science, it earns public trust and keeps the world safe... We are helping the agency earn back the trust it had squandered."
- The CDC did not respond to Axios' request for comment.
Threat level: The directors warned about ramifications of the Trump administration weakening public health programs, canceling medical research and boosting officials with unscientific views.
- "This is unacceptable, and it should alarm every American, regardless of political leanings," they wrote.
Zoom out: Public health authorities have already warned that the turmoil at the CDC could deplete the pipeline for future scientific talent in the U.S.
- One of the top officials who resigned said Kennedy was reversing course on decades of scientific progress.
What we're watching: In their essay, the directors urged Congress to exercise its oversight authority over the Health Department and for state and local governments to fill funding gaps.
- "Philanthropy and the private sector must step up their community investments," they wrote. "Medical groups must continue to stand up for science and truth."
- "Physicians must continue to support their patients with sound guidance and empathy. And each of us must do what public health does best, to look out for one another."
Go deeper: MAHA's lasting threat to science
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from O'Neill.
