MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
In a few minutes, we'll speak with the former senior leader at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Anne Schuchat, about the shake-up at the health agency and how that may affect the country's ability to respond to a future pandemic.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
First, though, we're going to take a look at Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s selection of a new acting CDC director.
MARTIN: The announcement comes after Susan Monarez was forced out of the job after less than a month. Her attorneys say it's because she, quote, "refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts," unquote. Several other top leaders at CDC then resigned in protest.
FADEL: For more on the shake-up, NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin is here to explain. Good morning, Selena.
SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: Morning, Leila.
FADEL: So what have you found out about the soon-to-be acting director of CDC?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: His name is Jim O'Neill. That was first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by NPR. He's currently serving as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s deputy at HHS. He previously served various roles at HHS under President George W. Bush. But since then, he's mostly run investment funds for billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel. He has expressed very strong libertarian views, including, for instance, that FDA should just put medicine out on the market and let consumers assume the risks. And he's also said he thinks people should be able to be compensated for donating human organs to help incentivize more supply. Here he is in an online video making that point in a speech in 2009.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JIM O'NEILL: Eleven people every day die while waiting for a kidney that could save their life. And there are plenty of healthy spare kidneys walking around unused.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: It's notable that he is not a physician or a scientist. Susan Monarez, who was Senate-confirmed as CDC director, has a doctorate in microbiology, and most CDC directors through the decades have had medical degrees.
FADEL: OK. So he really has no medical background. She does. And the three CDC officials who resigned in protest over the director's removal were all medical doctors. Were you able to talk to them about why they left?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Yeah. You know, I spoke to one of the people who resigned yesterday. Her name is Deb Houry. She was CDC's chief medical officer. She said that it became clear very quickly after Monarez was sworn in and started working at CDC that she wasn't going to be able to implement her policy ideas on vaccines. And Houry felt she couldn't be part of the agency if Kennedy was going to let anti-science activists run the show. She was in touch with two center directors who felt the same. So on Wednesday, when news reports started coming out that Monarez was being fired...
DEB HOURY: We said, OK, this is our time. And we decided to do it together because when a single senior leader leaves, you know, it gets a little blip. But for us, we care about the agency and the people, and this is the way we could make that strong statement.
FADEL: And what was her reaction to the naming of Jim O'Neill as the next acting director?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Well, Houry told me he has been to CDC. He came with Secretary Kennedy to Atlanta after the shooting that happened there earlier this month. She has concerns about the fact that he's not a physician or scientist.
HOURY: You can be a great administrator, but you do need to at least have a knowledge of how you'd handle an outbreak or an emerging pathogen.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: It's unclear how long O'Neill will be serving in the acting role, but the next director will have to go through the Senate confirmation process, which often takes months.
FADEL: OK, let's talk about that. I mean, what is the role of Congress here? Could lawmakers step in?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Well, several Democratic lawmakers have called for Kennedy to be fired over all of this. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Health Committee in the Senate, said this week that his committee will conduct oversight of these CDC resignations, although he's yet to confirm there'll be a hearing about it.
FADEL: That's NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin. Thank you, Selena.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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