Susan Monarez, the ousted director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has stood by her statement that she was fired after resisting changes to vaccine policy advanced by US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that she believed contradicted scientific evidence.
In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Monarez said she had been directed to pre-approve vaccine recommendations and fire career CDC officials, describing her ouster as part of a broader push to weaken US vaccine standards.
However at a fiery Senate hearing on Thursday, Kennedy said she lied and that he had never told Monarez she needed to pre-approve decisions, but that he did order her to fire officials, which she refused to do.
“Secretary Kennedy’s claims are false, and at times, patently ridiculous. Monarez stands by what she said in her Wall Street Journal op-ed,” her lawyers said in a statement, adding that she was willing to repeat it under oath.
Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have already called for Monarez to be called to testify before the senate, which would be under oath.
RFK Jr grilled in tense Senate hearing
The US health secretary faced the Senate finance committee in a tense and combative hearing during which lawmakers questioned his remarks expressing vaccine skepticism, claims that the scientific community is deeply politicized, and the ongoing turmoil plaguing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Read the full story
US justice department reportedly opens criminal inquiry into Fed governor Lisa Cook
The US justice department has initiated a criminal investigation into mortgage fraud claims against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, according to new reports, as a lawsuit she filed against Donald Trump over her firing makes its way through court.
Last month, Trump moved to fire Cook over unconfirmed claims that she listed two properties as her primary residence. Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency and a close ally of Trump, alleged Cook had lied on bank documents and records to obtain a better mortgage rate. In court documents, lawyers for Cook suggested that a “clerical error” may be behind the discrepancies found in her mortgage records.
Read the full story
Washington DC sues over Trump
Washington DC sued to stop Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard during law enforcement intervention in Washington. The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the hundreds of troops are essentially an “involuntary military occupation”. He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
Read the full story
Judge orders Trump to release billions in foreign aid
The Trump administration must release billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress, including money that Donald Trump said last week he will not be spending, a federal judge has ordered.
Read the full story
McConnell: Trump term marks ‘most dangerous period’ since WWII
The world during Donald Trump’s second presidency has entered a period of danger with “certain similarities to the 30s”, according to Mitch McConnell, the veteran Republican former Senate leader.
McConnell made the comments primarily in reference to tariffs and foreign affairs, in a wide-ranging interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader published on Wednesday as he prepares to enter his final year in office.
Read the full story
What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 3 September 2025.
