Susan Monarez testified for more than three hours Wednesday about her ouster as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after less than a month on the job, accusing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of putting politics over public health and endangering the country.

Monarez, the first Senate-confirmed CDC director, told members of the Senate Health Committee that Kennedy pressured her and other officials to support unethical changes to federal vaccine policy without supporting evidence, bypassed the agency’s scientific process by announcing major decisions on social media, and prohibited them from talking to lawmakers.

“I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity,” Monarez said, adding she was “concerned about my ability to continue leading the CDC while preserving evidence-based decisionmaking.”

Here are key takeaways.

Changes to the childhood vaccine schedule

Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) asked Monarez whether Kennedy spoke about the childhood vaccine schedule.

Monarez testified that Kennedy told her the childhood vaccine schedule would change starting in September, “and I needed to be on board with it.”

Monarez also said Kennedy told her that “he spoke to the president every day about changing the childhood vaccine schedule.”

Kennedy is a longtime vaccine skeptic who has promoted false........

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