Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is being ousted from the position less than a month after being sworn in, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing multiple Trump administration officials familiar with the matter.
The Washington Post did not cite a reason for the departure. Citing several anonymous CDC employees, the newspaper reported that Monarez on Friday canceled an agency-wide call that had been scheduled for Monday. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately provide comment.
Monarez, a federal government scientist, was confirmed by the Senate on 29 July and sworn in by Robert F Kennedy Jr two day later. Her departure comes after a police officer was killed in a shooting at the CDC.
Here's a recap of the day so far
Donald Trump has ordered the American flag to be flown at half-staff at the White House and across federal buildings until 31 August, following the mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis which killed two children and injured 17 people. My colleagues are tracking the latest developments here.
Earlier, DC’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, held a press conference to discuss the federal takeover of the DC police. The mayor balanced deference towards Trump with occasional bursts of defiance. Bowser said that while she “greatly appreciates” the impact of the federal law enforcement surge on district crime (pointing to the substantial decrease in carjackings compared to this time last year), there was ultimately a “break in trust” between officers and local residents. “We know having masked Ice agents in the community has not worked, and national guard from other states has not been an efficient use of those resources,” she added.
Bowser said she has a “courtesy meeting” with the president today, where they did not discuss any of his plans to extend the federal takeover beyond 30 days (a move that would require congressional approval). The mayor did say that Trump’s “knowledge of DC” appeared to have “significantly increased” from the first term in office. She declined to offer any details about her “substantive” conversation with attorney general Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Bowser offered glimpses of pushback against the administration when taking questions from reporters. She said was was “devastated” to hear that immigrants in DC are living in fear of being arrested by Ice agents, and claimed that if the Metropolitan police department had more officers –a recurring plea from DC government – local law enforcement wouldn’t require any federal intervention.
Staying in the nation’s capital, The US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said that his department is taking back control of Union Station from Amtrak –the railroad company that receives federal subsidies and has managed the daily operations of the DC transportation hub for over a year. At a launch event for a new fleet of high-speed trains today, Duffy said that the station has been “neglected for decades”. He added that reclaiming station management “will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”
Meanwhile, Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on CNN today that Donald Trump hasn’t “made a final call” on when he plans to nominate a replacement for Lisa Cook – the Federal Reserve governor he moved to fire this week. Hassett’s comment came after Trump suggested at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he had a candidate in mind. Cook has not been charged with a crime, and is expected to file a lawsuit challenging her attempted firing.
Meanwhile, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that Kilmar Ábrego García cannot be deported again until at least early October. Judge Paula Xinis has set a hearing for 6 October on the administration’s plans to deport Ábrego. His lawyers also said their client wants to seek asylum in the US, for fear of torture and persecution if deported to Uganda.
