Former CDC Director Susan Monarez to testify in front of Senate HELP Committee next week

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) announced Tuesday that former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez will testify in a hearing on Capitol Hill next week.

Monarez was terminated from the job late last month after less than one month officially in office. Top Kennedy adviser, Jim O'Neill, is the acting CDC director until a new one has been confirmed. 

The former director is expected to testify about her high-profile firing, which Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed was because she admitted to being untrustworthy.

HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy said the hearing will be focused on restoring trust in the CDC and how recent events at the agency could impact children's health.

“Children’s health must be the top priority. I thank President [Donald] Trump and Secretary Kennedy for making radical transparency a priority," Cassidy said in a statement. “To protect children’s health, Americans need to know what has happened and is happening at the CDC. They need to be reassured that their child’s health is given priority. Radical transparency is the only way to do that.”

Former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who left the agency the same day Monarez was fired, will also testify at the hearing. Current HHS and CDC officials will be invited to respond to the testimony at a future hearing.

The hearing will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 10 a.m. Eastern in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.