Monarez was a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the
American Association for the Advancement of Science She worked as a science and policy advisor at
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) during 2006–2009, and at the
Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) during 2009–2013. Monarez served as Assistant Director for National Health Security and International Affairs in the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Director of Medical Preparedness Policy on the
National Security Council At the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Monarez served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Data Analytics during 2016–2018,
Donald Trump announced her nomination as permanent Director on March 24, 2025, after he withdrew his previous nomination of
Dave Weldon. She was the first appointee to the position requiring
confirmation by the Senate due to a provision in the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Upon being nominated, she stepped down as Acting Director due to requirements of the
Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed her 51–47 in a
party-line vote. Because she has a
Ph.D. rather than an
M.D. degree, she was the first director without a medical degree since 1953. On August 27, 2025, the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated in a post on
X that Monarez was no longer CDC Director. It was reported that she was fired because she refused to support directives from Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on changes to vaccine policy, including for approvals for
COVID-19 vaccines, and to fire her senior staff, and for recruiting Senator
Bill Cassidy to intervene in the dispute. On August 28, it was reported that the Trump administration was planning to appoint
HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill as Acting CDC Director. On the day of the firing, attorneys
Mark Zaid and
Abbe Lowell, representing Monarez, stated that she had not actually been fired yet, and that she would not resign. However, by September 3, she was no longer trying to be reinstated. along with former CDC chief medical officer
Debra Houry; September 17, 2025 Following news of her ouster, at least four other CDC senior officials announced their resignations: •
Debra Houry, Chief Medical Officer •
Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases • Daniel Jernigan, Director of the
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases •
Jennifer Layden, Director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, which contains the
National Center for Health Statistics On September 4, Secretary Kennedy testified before the
Senate Finance Committee, where Massachusetts Senator
Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator
Bernie Sanders questioned him about rumors surrounding Monarez's firing. Kennedy claimed that he simply asked her to resign because she told him that she wasn't trustworthy. On September 17, Monarez told the
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that she confirmed that she was fired because she did not preemptively commit to accepting CDC advisory panel recommendations and firing some career officials overseeing vaccine policy, thus confirming the earlier reports. She believes that the true reason was holding the line on scientific integrity. ==References==