The nominated at the CDC, Susan Monarez, bypassing questions about disagreements with the RFK in the Senate audience

Susan Monarerez, the choice of President Donald Trump to direct the centers for Disease Control and Prevention American, told senators on Wednesday that she values ​​vaccines, public health interventions and rigorous scientific evidence, but largely diverted questions on the generalized reductions of the agency, the elimination of programs and if she disagreed with the health of the secretary of health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“The secretary does the important work to lead a complex agency,” Monarez told members of a senatorial health committee who will decide to advance his appointment.

Monarez, 50, is the first candidate for the CDC director to demand confirmation of the Senate. She was appointed acting director in January and the candidate for the position in March after Trump suddenly withdrawn his first choice, David Weldon. Monarez is the former director of a federal biomedical and scientific research agency respected, although she is the first non-medicine to lead the CDC for decades.

Monarez has repeatedly said that it had not been involved in decisions earlier this year to reduce hundreds of staff members and eliminate CDC programs, but that it would work to maintain the main functions of the agency and to transition from key programs to other parts of the health and social services department.

His answers seemed to frustrate certain senators, notably the Democrat of Virginie Tim Kaine, who said that he had no questions about his qualifications.

“I have questions about your desire to follow your values,” he said.

During the two -hour hearing, Monarez was strongly questioned about Kennedy’s recent decision to dismiss the 17 members of a crucial committee that assess and recommend vaccines, minimize the risks of measles during a national epidemic and personnel discounts to a program that investigates the head poison in children.

Senator Bill Cassidy, a republican of Louisiana who is chairman of the committee, asked for insurance on the scientific integrity of the CDC advisory committee on vaccination practices, which was reconstituted by Kennedy to include skeptics of vaccines.

“Someone can speak as a critic, but there should be someone who examines overwhelming evidence of vaccine safety,” said Cassidy.

Monarez said that it strongly supported public health interventions, including vaccinations, saying: “I think vaccines save lives.”

“The AIPI has a very vital role to play,” she added. “And this must ensure that he uses science and evidence to stimulate this decision -making.”

She promised to prioritize innovation, “rapid decision -making based on evidence” and clear communication in the agency of $ 9.2 billion responsible for assessing vaccines, monitoring diseases and monitoring the health threats of the Americans.

Monarez refused to say if she disagreed with one of Kennedy’s decisions concerning the agency to date, saying that he had “exposed a very clear vision”.

“I think he has prioritized the main public health activities to prevent chronic diseases,” she added.

If Monarerez was confirmed, it would end a confusion at the CDC based in Atlanta, where, for months, it was not clear who led the agency. The role of the acting director was partially fulfilled by Matthew Buzzelli, the chief of staff of the CDC who is a lawyer and appointed policy without medical experience.

Monarez holds the doctorate in microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin, and his postdoctoral training was in microbiology and immunology at the University of Stanford.

At the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, the employees said that Monarez had rarely heard between the end of January and the end of March, when Trump had named it.

The CDC was created almost 80 years ago to prevent the spread of malaria in the United States, its mission was then extended, and it gradually became a world leader in infectious and chronic diseases and a source of health information.

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