WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The White House has removed the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, after she refused to step down.
The White House fired Monarez citing the reason that she was 'not aligned with the president's agenda.'
Dr Monarez's lawyers said she was being targeted for refusing 'to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts' and accused Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of 'weaponizing public health.'
'As her attorney's statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president's agenda,' the White House said n a statement on Wednesday.
The veteran federal government scientist was fired within just one month of appointing her to the top post of CDC.
The first Senate-confirmed director of the CDC, Dr.Monarez had decades of frontline experience in disaster preparedness, biosecurity, and health innovation.
Before being elevated as the CDC chief, Monarez served as Acting Director of CDC and Deputy Director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, where she transformed the HHS operating division's data collection, disease detection and treatment technologies.
Meanwhile, 21 employees of Federal Emergency Management Agency have reportedly been put on administrative leave after they signed an open letter criticizing the Trump administration's disaster preparedness and response capabilities.
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