August 28, 2025
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — Last night, CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez was ousted from her role, just a few weeks following her Senate confirmation. Her lawyers claimed that she did not resign but was forced out by RFK Jr. as he “weaponiz[ed] public health.” In response, 314 Action Executive Director Erik Polyak released the following statement:
“The CDC is on fire — and RFK Jr. is the arsonist. He’s torching the agency in the middle of a five-alarm blaze by firing and forcing out the very experts who’ve spent their lives keeping Americans safe from outbreaks and epidemics. America has never been more vulnerable than it is today.
“Just this week, he restricted access to COVID-19 vaccines, CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez was pushed out and three top CDC scientists resigned, and in a Cabinet meeting, RFK Jr. made claims that he’s ‘discovered’ the cause of autism. This kind of reckless misinformation will kill Americans and give credence to dangerous conspiracies that will take generations to correct.
“All of this chaos could’ve been prevented by Senator Bill Cassidy. He cast the deciding vote and put RFK Jr. in charge of our public health — that’s like letting a fox babysit the henhouse. As a senator and a doctor, Cassidy managed to break his Hippocratic oath and common sense in one vote. The collapse of America’s public health system has two names on it: RFK Jr. and Bill Cassidy.”