Trump's USA Health Policy

Sources: Kennedy's closest man to become interim CDC director

The White House has selected Jim O'Neill, deputy director of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as interim director of the CDC, according to sources in several US media outlets.

This comes after CDC director Susan Monarez was fired just under a month after she took office. The reason is said to be that she opposes Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy's unscientific vaccine policy. Her intended interim replacement is instead one of the minister's closest aides and highest-ranking deputies.

The appointment potentially paves the way for Kennedy to continue his efforts to reform federal vaccine policy, writes the Washington Post.

Analysis: White House risks credibility of agencies

The independence of both the US CDC and the US Federal Reserve is at stake, after President Donald Trump fired, or took steps to fire, the heads of the agencies. This is what the New York Times' Luke Broadwater writes in an analysis.

Critics say that by doing so, the Trump administration is risking the credibility of institutions that have long been considered above politics and have played a key role in providing decision-makers with the information needed to shape the future of the United States, Broadwater writes.

He quotes, among others, William A Galston, who was an advisor to President Bill Clinton and is now a senior fellow at the Brookings think tank. Galston believes that Trump has stretched the limits of the presidential role more than any of his predecessors even tried.

If the Fed's credibility were undermined, it could threaten the stability of the entire global economy, according to Galston.

CNN's Stephen Collinson also notes the experts' concerns in a commentary. Mass defections have followed the CDC director's firing, which is described as devastating for science-based health policy. The chaos leaves the country more vulnerable and puts American public health in an uncertain position, Collinson writes.

The turbulence at the CDC – it's about the matter

The US Department of Health and Human Services withdrew $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine research on August 6, 2025, and focused on other vaccine strategies. Later in August, restrictions were announced on the recommendations for the Covid vaccine.

CDC director Susan Monarez was fired by the White House at the end of August 2025 after a conflict with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy over vaccine policy. She had taken office barely a month earlier.

Four other high-ranking CDC officials left their posts the same day, in protest of Kennedy's vaccine policy.

Jim O’Neill, deputy director of the Department of Health and Human Services, was named interim director of the CDC after Monarez’s resignation, according to US media reports.

Experts expressed concern about chaos and lack of preparedness within the CDC following the layoffs and leadership changes.