President Trump’s administration is facing fallout from this week’s leadership shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where the agency’s director was terminated and other top officials resigned.
The president fired Susan Monarez on Wednesday after she clashed with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., over vaccine policy. Monarez is contesting her firing.
After Monarez’s firing, Demetre C. Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry resigned, arguing that the recent leadership changes are barring them from fulfilling their roles as public health officials.
Kennedy and the administration defended Monarez’s firing, with the White House saying on Thursday that Trump has the “authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.”
Some Republican senators are at unease over the tumult at the CDC, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called on Kennedy to step down from his post.
Daskalakis is set to appear on ABC’s “This Week,” where he will likely discuss his resignation and what is ahead for the CDC.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers will be back in session next week after the August recess and will grapple with the upcoming funding fight as the deadline for a government shutdown approaches.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) will be on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” where she will likely weigh in on the upcoming funding battle in the Senate.
On Wednesday, a deadly shooting took place at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, where two children were killed and 18 others were injured by 23-year-old Robin Westman.
Mississippi State Superintendent of Education Lance Evans will be on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” where he will likely weigh in on the shooting.
Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital has continued. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a Saturday morning update that more than 80 arrests were made, and 11 illegal firearms were seized overnight in Washington. So far, police have made over 1,450 arrests since the president federalized the local law enforcement and deployed the National Guard.
There, and other topics, are likely going to be discussed at the upcoming Sunday shows:
NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Education Secretary Linda McMahon; Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer (D); Mississippi state Superintendent of Education Lance Evans and Professor Catherine Pakaluk.
Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday”: U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro; Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.); Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.).
ABC’s “This Week”: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.); Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.); Former CDC official Demetre Daskalakis.
NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
CNN’s “State of the Union”: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.); Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump.
Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures”: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro; House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.); Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); New York City Mayoral Candidate Curtis Sliwa (R) and former deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates.
