Turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control

Yesterday was another day in which Trump's dictatorship was further demonstrated. One characteristic of dictators is that they attempt to get rid of anyone not believed to be completely loyal. Along those lines, one can quickly switch from being considered "loyal" to being thought "disloyal" and becoming persona non grata. We saw an example of that yesterday. However, we are now increasingly seeing resistance. Those being fired are not always going peacefully into the night, but rather putting up a fight. Others, rather than waiting to be shown the door, are leaving on their own terms, their resignations being acts of resistance.

Late yesterday, the official Department of Health and Human Services X account tweeted that Dr. Susan Monarez, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was no longer serving in that position. Reports soon emerged that Monarez and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had clashed over vaccine policy and that Kennedy had acted to remove her. This was a rather abrupt change of circumstances. Just five months ago, Kennedy tweeted that "I handpicked Susan for this job because she is a longtime champion of MAHA values, and a caring, compassionate and brilliant microbiologist and a tech wizard who will reorient CDC toward public health and gold-standard science." Kennedy, well-known for his anti-vaccine views, apparently has lost interest in "gold-standard science".

Monarez, unlike prior CDC directors, was confirmed by the Senate. Therefore, lawyers on her behalf responded to Kennedy's action by saying that only the President had the authority to fire her. Later yesterday evening, a spokesman for cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump issued a statement saying that "the White House has terminated Monarez from her position" with the CDC. This still did not satisfy Monarez's lawyers who claimed that Trump himself had to do the firing. The attorneys also alleged that Kennedy was "weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk" and "Monarez refused to rubberstamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts".

Meanwhile, four top CDC leaders offered their resignations in protest. As the New York Times reports:

The four high-ranking agency officials who did resign are Dr. Debra Houry, the C.D.C.’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who ran the center that issues vaccine recommendations; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who oversaw the center that oversees vaccine safety; and Dr. Jennifer Layden, who led the office of public health data.

...

Dr. Jernigan was deeply involved in the agency’s response to anthrax, swine flu and Covid; Dr. Daskalakis helped the nation cope with an mpox outbreak; Dr. Layden established the Covid strategic science unit; and Dr. Houry built the agency’s opioid response program.

In his resignation letter, Daskalakis wrote that he is "unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health." The letter went on to address specific policies and actions with which Daskalakis disagreed and believed to be harmful to public health. In a rather remarkable part of the letter, Daskalakis alluded to the recent shooting in which an individual with anti-vaccine views fired multiple shots through the windows of CDC's headquarters and also killed a policeman:

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud. I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur. I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed.

It is notable that Trump has yet to publicly say a word about the CDC shooting. He may well be forced to openly fire Dr. Monarez before having made a single statement with regard to that deadly event. If CDC workers are feeling neglected and unappreciated, they have good reason. As for the rest of us, if the U.S. encounters anything like the COVID pandemic while Kennedy is still wrecking havoc, we are going to be in trouble. Between Kennedy and Trump, the official recommendation from HHS and the CDC to fight a deadly virus may well be to shine flashlights up our bums.

On Tuesday, I wrote about Trump's purported firing of Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook. The background to this is that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte has been using his office to dig through the mortgage agreements of various Trump enemies. When Pulte has discovered irregularities in such documents, he has immediately broadcast allegations of fraud on social media. Pulte alleges that in 2021, Cook signed mortgage agreements claiming two different homes as her main residence in order to obtain better terms. Notably, as has been his habit, Pulte did not give Cook an opportunity to respond before making a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Justice Special Attorney Ed Martin. What is important to understand is that Pulte anointed himself both judge and jury and proclaimed Cook guilty before the public without even the most rudimentary of due process.

This morning, Cook filed suit against Trump, members of the Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell. Cook maintains that the Federal Reserve Act only allows Governors to be removed due to cause. While the FRA itself does not define "cause," based on other laws and court findings, Cook argues that cause means "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office". Cook does not address the allegations against her regarding the mortgage agreements other than to note that the agreements were completed prior to her Senate confirmation and that the allegations are unsubstantiated. Essentially, Cook's argument is that Pulte's allegations deal with something that occurred before Cook became a Governor and, therefore, do not reflect her conduct in that role. Moreover, she has had no opportunity to formally respond to the claims. Therefore, she is asking the Court to find Trump's declaration that he has fired Cook to be unlawful and void.

It is hard to see how the Courts will do anything other than adjudicate this filing in Cook's favor. There has been no legal finding of misconduct, let alone one that deals with Cook's conduct while in her position of Governor. Moreover, as I mentioned when I addressed this earlier, the Supreme Court recently explicitly commented on the special status of the Federal Reserve and its independent role. Nevertheless, given the Supreme Court's recent behavior, which Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has described as "Calvinball," it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that a majority of the Supreme Court will find a way to side with Trump. In that case, the independence of the Federal Reserve Board will be severely compromised as Trump will be able to easily generate a finding of "cause" for any of the Governors. He could easily fill the Board with his own devotees who will follow his bidding. But even without Trump being successful in getting rid of Cook, it is hard to see how the Fed's independence has not already suffered. The Governors, and Chairman Powell, do not live in a vacuum. They are aware of the pressure Trump is applying and it would be impossible for them to ignore it entirely.

Those that study authoritarian governments often note that such systems are enabled by a populace that simply goes along with the regime. Whether it is through indifferent compliance or active collaboration, a lack of pushback encourages authoritarians. Acts of resistance, no matter how small, can be empowering. Therefore, we must acknowledge Monarez and Cook who are refusing to passively concede to Trump's diktats. May they serve as examples for others.