CDC Immunization Chief Quits Over RFK Jr. Agenda, White House Ridicules Letter

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, resigned effective 28 August, posting a letter that criticized the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for what he called efforts to “erase transgender populations” and dismantle public-health programs. The letter drew notice for its inclusive language, including the phrase “pregnant people,” and for listing Daskalakis’s pronouns. Asked about the departure, the White House press secretary said officials who describe expectant mothers as “pregnant people” are “not someone we want in this administration,” underscoring the administration’s break with the departing scientist. Conservative commentators amplified that view, with GOP analyst Scott Jennings dismissing Daskalakis’s credibility during a CNN panel discussion on Thursday. Daskalakis is among several senior officials who have left or signaled plans to leave the agency after President Trump attempted to remove CDC Director Susan Monarez earlier this month. The departures come as Kennedy presses for sweeping changes at the CDC, stoking concern among former officials that the agency’s ability to respond to future outbreaks could be weakened.