Trump is nominated for Susan Monares to lead the CDC

President Trump chose Susan Monares, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to lead the agency forever.

The president has withdrawn his first candidate, Dr. Dave Weldon. If confirmed by the Senate, infectious disease researcher Dr. Monares will be the first non-physia person to lead an agency in more than 50 years.

“Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and tragic mismanagement,” the president wrote about the true society, adding that Dr. Monares will work with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address the chronic disease outbreak and restore agency accountability.

“As an incredible mother and dedicated civil servant, Dr. Monares understands the importance of protecting our children, our community and our future,” Trump wrote.

Dr. Monares, 50, assumed the position of proxy director a few days after Trump took office in January, leaving her perch as the deputy director of the new federal biomedical research institute created during the Biden administration.

Dr. Monares was expected to serve until Trump was confirmed by Dr. Weldon, the first option for his job. But after Trump decided to withdraw his nomination, a Senate Republican aide said Dr. Weldon failed to impress them with the agency's plans.

Dr. Weldon accused two senators of pointing him, Susan Collins of Maine and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Some experts said Dr. Monares is in contrast to Dr. Weldon. Dr. Weldon has issued an alarm in the medical community, consistent with Kennedy's skepticism about vaccines as a child.

Kennedy's response to the rise in measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico has attracted considerable criticism, including his warm vaccine recommendation. Dr. Monares is a biosecurity expert who approved the Covid vaccine, and her choice could indicate a growing sense of impatience over anti-vaccine sentiment.

“She is a solid researcher and has a high reputation as an infectious disease expert,” said Dr. George Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

“She has a clear understanding of the role that public health and government public health plays,” he said. “I think the public health community can work with her in a positive way.”

However, Dr. Monares is a few weeks away from Atlanta, where the agency is headquartered. According to several CDC employees who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, she has not attended the agency's All-Hand meetings to employees who are worried about the uproars of the past few weeks, and has not provided employees with peace of mind.

The comment section of the agency's internal website was quickly removed after the staff began to realize they wanted more communication from her.

The centre director interprets the president's executive orders and various court instructions with little opinion from directors, officials said.

Instead, the proxy director's office served as a conduit for directives from the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services.

For example, she is planning to cut back on agencies in collaboration with a cost-cutting initiative known as government efficiency, according to a former employee with knowledge of the issue.

And when the Trump administration ordered the CDC to remove pages from websites containing phrases such as “LGBTQ” and “transgender,” Dr. Monares did not resist or attempt to save important data, according to three people who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.