White House fires disease prevention boss after accusing her of 'not being aligned with president's agenda'
The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been sacked.
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The departure of Susan Monarez from the CDC follows growing tensions over vaccine policies and public health directives.
The White House has claimed she wasn't "aligned with the president's agenda of making America healthy again".
Her lawyers have said she was being targeted for refusing "to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives".
In a statement, Monarez's lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said: "When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted."
Shortly after her sacking, at least three senior CDC leaders resigned from the agency, some citing frustration over vaccine policy and the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, also known as RFK.
Among those who also left their posts was Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who warned about the "rise of misinformation" about vaccines in a letter.
She also argued against planned cuts to the agency's budget.
The White House, which has the authority to dismiss Monarez, followed up late Wednesday night with a statement from spokesperson Kush Desai, who said Monarez was "terminated."
"As her attorney's statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President's agenda of Making America Healthy Again.
"Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC," Desai said.
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However, Monarez's lawyers contested this, arguing because Monarez was appointed by President Trump to the post — the first CDC director to go through a Senate confirmation process — Trump had to personally dismiss her.
"For this reason, we reject the notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position," Zaid and Lowell said in a statement.
Monarez, the recently sworn-in director of the CDC, was confirmed by the Senate just a month ago.
