Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Wednesday for her first public appearance since she was pushed out of her position leading the nation's public health agency.Republican Sen.Bill Cassidy, the panel's chair and a doctor from Louisiana who was one of the key votes to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., said he was focused on learning what led to the abrupt firing of Monarez just weeks after her confirmation."Part of our responsibility today is to ask ourselves, if someone is fired 29 days after every Republican votes for her, the Senate confirms her, the secretary said in her swearing in that she has 'unimpeachable scientific credentials' and the president called her an incredible mother and dedicated public servant -- like what happened? Did we fail? Was there something we should have done differently?" Cassidy said.Monarez, in her opening statement, gave a detailed timeline on the chain of events that she said led to her ouster."Since my removal, several explanations have been offered: that I told the secretary I would resign, that I was not aligned with administration priorities, or that I was untrustworthy.None of those reflect what actually happened," Monarez said.Monarez said there was a meeting in which she says Kennedy told her to preemptively accept recommendations from a CDC vaccine advisory panel and to fire career officials overseeing vaccine policy."I would not commit to that, and I believe it is the true reason I was fired," Monarez said.
She later added, "I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity."She also claimed that Kennedy spoke to the White House "several times" prior to the meeting about firing her.Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez arrives to testify before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in ...