It’s not every day that nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention line up together to issue a public warning. In fact, it’s never happened before. But that’s exactly what they did this week, publishing a blistering op-ed in The New York Times accusing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of dismantling the nation’s public health safety net.
Their message was blunt: Kennedy is “endangering every American’s health.”
The extraordinary rebuke comes on the heels of last week’s sudden firing of Dr. Susan Monarez, who lasted less than a month as CDC director before being pushed out by the Trump administration. Her ouster sparked a wave of resignations from top officials and left many inside the agency openly wondering whether the CDC itself can survive in its current form.
Former CDC chief Dr. Tom Frieden went on MSNBC shortly after, saying flatly:
“I never thought I would see the day when you couldn’t trust what’s on the CDC website, but that day has come.”
In their joint essay, the nine former directors—spanning administrations from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump’s first term—accused Kennedy of gutting programs that protect Americans from cancer, heart disease, lead poisoning, and infectious outbreaks. They say he’s fired thousands of staffers, canceled investments in promising research, and stacked federal health committees with unqualified ideologues who share his anti-vaccine views.
They also blasted him for cutting US support for global vaccination programs that protect millions of children, all while pushing unproven alternative treatments amid the worst US measles outbreak in decades. The firing of Monarez, they wrote, “adds considerable fuel to this raging fire.”
Kennedy, long known as a vaccine skeptic, defended himself in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, claiming he was brought in to “restore trust” and return the CDC to its “core mission.” But his critics say the opposite is happening—trust is collapsing just when the country needs its public health agencies most.
The uproar has already spilled into Congress. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who chairs the Senate Health Committee, has called for oversight hearings and pressed HHS to postpone an upcoming vaccine advisory meeting, citing the “high-profile departures” at CDC.
Medical experts outside government are also worried. Dr. Céline Gounder, editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said the op-ed underscored how politics and ideology are now running the show.
“We really are very concerned about how this is diminishing trust in the very most basic public health infrastructure in this country,” she told CBS News.
For many, the situation feels unprecedented. The CDC—once a trusted global leader—has been weakened by waves of firings, staff cuts, and political meddling. The nine former directors warned that without urgent course correction, the US could be left dangerously unprepared for future health emergencies.
Their bottom line was stark: this isn’t about partisanship or policy debates. It’s about whether the nation’s top public health agency can still do its job.
And as they put it, under RFK Jr.’s watch, the answer is slipping toward no.
Later this month, when world leaders converge in New York, Belgium is set to stand alongside France, the UK, and others in pressing Israel harder than ever. Whether the conditions for recognition are ever met remains to be seen—but Brussels has made its position clear: change on the ground is overdue.
MSNBC, BBC, CBS News, and the Hill contributed to this report.
The latest news in your social feeds
Subscribe to our social media platforms to stay tuned