Murphy posted a video on X declaring that “the destruction of the CDC” was unfolding “in real time,” charging that the agency was being turned into “a money-making conspiracy racket instead of a public health agency.” His remarks came after the White House confirmed last week that CDC Director Susan Monarez had been removed less than a month into her tenure, prompting at least four senior officials to resign in protest.
In his video statement, Murphy said Monarez had refused to substitute scientific recommendations on coronavirus vaccines with directives from Kennedy, who has long questioned vaccine safety. “The CDC director wouldn’t do that. She was forced out, and her top advisors resigned as well,” Murphy stated, arguing that “people are going to get killed because of what is happening this week at the CDC.”
The senator argued that the firings left the agency vulnerable to political influence. “Those people are going to be replaced by lunatic right-wing conspiracy theorists, and all of a sudden we are not going to be protecting this country from viruses and diseases any longer,” he commented. He alleged that Kennedy profited from opposing vaccines before his appointment and asserted that the administration was “hurting families” and “putting the security of this country at risk.”
The leadership changes at the CDC represent the latest development in a series of clashes between the administration and public health officials. On August 28, the Associated Press noted that Monarez’s firing was “the final straw” for several deputies, including Deputy Director Debra Houry and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who asserted the changes compromised scientific integrity. Monarez’s attorneys argued she was removed illegally for refusing to “rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives.”
Daskalakis, who resigned as head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, had risen to national prominence during the Biden administration. As Breitbart News reported, he was tapped as Deputy Monkeypox Coordinator after serving as a “progressive, radical gay doctor” in New York City’s Department of Health. His unconventional approach to public health, including promoting vaccines while occasionally appearing in drag to reach at-risk communities, earned him glowing profiles in outlets such as NBC News, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. His activism in the LGBTQ community later fueled his rise to leadership roles in HIV prevention and pandemic response.
Earlier in August, Kennedy announced a full ban on thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative long used in flu vaccines, calling it a “neurotoxin” that should not have been given to children or pregnant women. Kennedy also dismissed the members of the CDC’s long-standing Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with a panel that included vaccine skeptics.
The White House has defended the transition, with Kennedy stating the CDC required “strong leadership” to address a “deeply embedded malaise.” Jim O’Neill, a former HHS deputy secretary and Trump ally, has been named acting director. Public health advocates, including the American Nurses Association, have also cautioned that the changes “raise serious questions about our country’s ability to respond to a public health crisis if it were to happen today.”
Murphy’s comments join a growing chorus of Democrats criticizing the administration’s handling of the CDC. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) last week called Kennedy “a lunatic” and urged that he be fired.
Breitbart News
Read the full article .
