| Susan Monarez may still hold the title of director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — but the Trump administration is moving to push her out just weeks into the job. Her clash with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines set off a cascade of resignations, including Demetre Daskalakis, who said he could no longer serve because of the “weaponizing of public health.” Two of the agency’s most seasoned leaders also quit: Debra Houry and Daniel Jernigan. Between them, they’ve helped steer the US through Ebola, Zika, flu pandemics, opioids, mpox, and of course Covid. Losing that kind of institutional memory all at once is a body blow to an agency already under pressure. Former CDC director Tom Frieden put it bluntly: public health is under assault. Stripping away leaders with decades of experience, he warned, weakens America’s frontline defense and risks extinguishing the CDC’s role as a beacon of health protection at the very moment trust is most needed. The CDC has weathered storms before, but rarely like this. Staff are still reeling from a gunman’s attack on the agency earlier this month, an episode many linked to anti-vaccine rhetoric. Morale has sagged after budget cuts and layoffs. And now some of its most respected voices are walking away. That word “weaponized” matters. It speaks to what’s changed — and what hasn’t. For nearly two decades, Kennedy and other anti-vaccine activists have spread false claims about mercury in shots and debunked links to autism. That drumbeat eroded confidence slowly but steadily. Then Covid hit, and mistrust exploded into the mainstream. Vaccination rates for US kindergarteners have slipped to their lowest in about a decade, fueling measles outbreaks. Scientists who once spoke freely have been driven off social media by harassment. And long-serving public health officials are discovering that decades of nonpartisan service no longer protect them from politics. This matters for more than Washington drama. The CDC isn’t just a building in Atlanta — it’s the front line for detecting outbreaks, deploying field teams, and giving state and local health departments the guidance they need. When trust falters or leaders are hollowed out, the ripple effects reach every hospital, every school, every community clinic. And the threats aren’t waiting. Bird flu is spreading in cattle. Measles is resurging. Mpox is flaring. New World screwworm is reemerging. The science is better than ever — vaccines and treatments can be built at record speed — but the institutions that turn science into public confidence are wobbling. Covid showed what’s possible when science is unleashed. But it also magnified the mistrust now hollowing out the very agencies meant to protect us. Monarez’s attempted ouster and the resignations that followed aren’t just inside baseball — they’re a warning. If the CDC can’t hold on to its leaders, who will guide the public through the next crisis? — Jason Gale | 
