(17 Sep 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++EDIT BEGINS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
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POOL
Washington DC – 17 September 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Monarez, former CDC Director:
“In the first meeting, he asked me to commit to firing scientists or resign. He asked me to pre-commit to signing off in each and one of the forthcoming ACIP recommendations, regardless of whether or not there was scientific evidence.” 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R) Louisiana:
“And what were those recommendations? Did you have a foreshadowing of what they would be?”
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Monarez, former CDC Director:
“I did not. We did not get into any substance about what –
(Cassidy: But he wanted you to approve them.)
He just wanted blanket approval. And if I could not commit to approval of each and every one of the recommendations that would be forthcoming, I needed to resign. I did not resign, and that is when he told me he had already spoken to the White House about having me removed.
(Cassidy: Did he ever communicate he was gonna change the childhood vaccination schedule?)
In the– in, not until that very day in that morning meeting He said that the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September and I needed to be on board with it
(Cassidy: Did he ever suggest that the president was that he was speaking for the president?)
In that morning meeting, he did say that he had spoken to the president. He spoke to the President every day about changing the childhood vaccine schedule.”
++BLACK FRAMES++
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R) Louisiana:
“Now, Senator, Secretary Kennedy told the Finance Committee that he did not ask you to pre-approve, but that you were biased against the new ACIP and he just asked you to keep an open mind. Did he cite any data or science as relates to the potential ACIP recommendations to persuade you to support them?”
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Monarez, former CDC Director:
“He did not have any data or science to point to. As a matter of fact, we got into an exchange where I had suggested that I would be open to changing childhood vaccine schedules if the evidence or science were supportive. And he responded that there was no science or evidence associated with the childhood vaccine schedule. And he elaborated that CDC had never collected the science or the data to make it available related to the to the safety and–
(Cassidy: To be clear, he said there was not science or data, but that you still expected you to change the schedule.)
Correct.”
++BLACK FRAMES++
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Debra Houry, former CDC Chief Medical Officer
“So, CDC scientists were being asked by ACIP to develop questions and recommendations. I did suggest additional questions that the hepatitis B workgroup look at so that they could look at differences in age groups. The senior advisor was concerned that it could bias moving away from a birth dose. I asked how asking questions and providing data could do bias if we didn’t have the–
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R) Louisiana:
“Wait, biased against moving away from, you’re suggesting that they wanted to move away from the birth dose but they were afraid that your data would say that they should retain it?”
(Doury: Correct.)
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Patty Murray, (D) Washington:
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Monarez, former CDC Director:
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Tammy Baldwin, (D) Wisconsin:
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Debra Houry, former CDC Chief Medical Officer
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