Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has been selected by the White House to serve as acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decision comes after President Donald Trump removed former CDC Director Susan Monarez following a clash with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Kennedy accused Monarez of getting in the way of the president’s plans.
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Monarez pushes back
Monarez is pushing back, trying to fight her dismissal, the Associated Press reported. Her lawyers claim she was fired because she stood up for science.
“If she leaves, we don’t have scientific leadership anymore,” Dr. Debra Houry, one of the officials, told the Associated Press on Thursday. “We were going to see if she was able to weather the storm. And when she was not, we were done.”
O’Neill’s appointment sparks controversy
This move appears to strengthen Kennedy’s control over vaccine policy. He has expressed interest in reviewing and possibly revising existing vaccine recommendations, sparking controversy, given his long history of vaccine skepticism.
O’Neill, a tech investor and former Thiel Foundation CEO, lacks a medical background but has political ties, including to Trump donor Peter Thiel and prior HHS experience under George W. Bush. O’Neill will keep his role at HHS while also running the CDC.
