Former CDC leaders expected to criticize Kennedy in Senate testimonies on Wednesday: Report

Two former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) leaders are expected to heavily criticize Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during appearances in the Senate this week, The Hill reported Tuesday.

Former CDC Director Susan Monarez is expected to testify in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Wednesday, where she is expected to talk about her firing that occurred late last month. 

Kennedy claimed in his own testimony last week that the firing was because Monarez allegedly admitted to being untrustworthy. She has denied the claim and is expected to testify that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity.” 

Monarez is also expected to testify that she was fired because she refused to bow to Kennedy’s wish for her to pre-approve recommendations by her agency’s vaccine advisory committee, which Kennedy rebuilt.

“Regarding trustworthiness — I cannot define that word for Secretary Kennedy,” Monarez wrote in a preview of her remarks. “I made commitments to this Committee that I would lead with integrity, transparency, and purpose, and work with Congress to maximize health outcomes and protect the American people. 

“Secretary Kennedy told me he could not trust me,” she continued. “I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence, fire career officials without cause, or resign — and I had shared my concerns with this Committee. I told the Secretary that if he believed he could not trust me, he could fire me.”

Former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who left the agency the same day Monarez was fired, will also testify at the hearing and is expected to attack an alleged lack of transparency in the CDC under Kennedy.

“Under Secretary Kennedy, the Committee has been replaced with known critics of vaccines and operates under decreased transparency, with a willful refusal to follow established scientific and decision-making procedures,” Houry wrote.

“Process matters because trust matters. If people believe outcomes are predetermined, or that recommendations are slanted by ideology rather than scientific data, they are less likely to accept even well-supported recommendations,” she continued. “Sadly, this is the path we are on.”

The hearing is expected to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern. Top Kennedy adviser, Jim O’Neill, is the acting CDC director until a new one is confirmed.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.