This morning, ousted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez came to the Senate to share her story of being fired by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump, the latest volley in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and the public health establishment.

According to Monarez’s testimony, the upcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — which will take place over the next two days — had been the impetus for her ouster. She testified that, during a contentious meeting with Kennedy before she was fired, he asked her to approve, sight unseen, the new vaccine recommendations that would be made by his new ACIP. The panel is now staffed by experts who were handpicked by Kennedy, who also asked her to fire career CDC vaccine scientists.

During her testimony before the Senate health committee, Monarez maintained composure as many Republican senators sought to cast doubt on her credibility. But the committee chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who is also a trained physician, was a counter-force: He issued his own warning about unjustified changes to the........

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