MaddowBlog-Ousted CDC director adds dramatic evidence to the case against RFK Jr.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had already earned a dreadful reputation. Dr. Susan Monarez, the ousted CDC chief, made him look even worse.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/susan-monarez-cdc-director-rfk-jr-rcna232208

But while all of her revelations were notable, certain elements stood out. From the Times report:

Dr. Monarez provided more details about the events that led to her firing. She told senators that she met with Mr. Kennedy three times on Aug. 25. In those meetings, she testified that Mr. Kennedy asked her to fire vaccine scientists without cause. She said he also asked her to pledge that she would approve in advance the forthcoming recommendations of the C.D.C.’s influential vaccine committee without having seen them.

“He just wanted blanket approval,” Monarez testified, referring to decisions that hadn’t been made yet. She added that Kennedy told her either to follow his order or resign......

Or put another way, if this was correct, Kennedy didn’t want the Senate-approved CDC director communicating with senators who have oversight authority over the CDC.

Q: What was RFK Jr's reaction when you raised the need to consult scientific evidence?

Former CDC Director: He stated there was no scientific evidence associated with vaccines. He called CDC the most corrupt agency in the world. He said that CDC employees were horrible people, were killing children

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T16:25:56.077177265Z

In case that weren’t quite enough, Monarez — who, again, was Trump’s nominee to lead the CDC — testified that Kennedy told her there was no scientific evidence associated with vaccines and that he believed CDC scientists were responsible for harming children.