BREAKING: In a major humiliation for Trump, CDC Chief Dr. Demetre Daskalakis resigns with a scathing letter, saying "enough is enough" with Trump and RFK Jr, whom he accuses of "threatening the lives" of the American people.
And it gets worse.
In his resignation letter, Dr. Daskalakis says he stepped down because he refuses to stay silent as Trump’s HHS under RFK Jr. tears down science, distorts data, and endangers our children, pregnant people, and marginalized folks.
Dr. Daskalakis didn’t mince words. “I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health,” he wrote, calling Trump’s CDC "a political weapon, not a scientific institution."
"Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function," he continued.
And he didn't stop there. Dr. Daskalakis accused RFK Jr.’s HHS of “radical non transparency and unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end,” warning this could drag us back to “a pre vaccine era where only the strong will survive.”
"I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us at the CDC. Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources," he continued.
Dr Daskalakis then slammed RFK Jr's changes to vaccine recommendations as life threatening, especially for young children and pregnant people. He warned that sidelining career scientists, withholding critical data, and twisting policy for politics isn’t just reckless— "it could cost lives."
"[Trump and RFK Jr's] desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults," he concluded. "Their base should be the people they serve, NOT a political voting bloc."
And there’s more: Dr. Daskalakis's resignation follows the already explosive ousting of CDC Director Susan Monarez. Monarez, who’d only been in the job for weeks, was fired after refusing to back RFK Jr.’s anti-science policies.
Multiple top CDC officials also followed Daskalakis out the door in protest.
This isn’t a mere resignation—it’s a heroic moral stand. Dr. Daskalakis is refusing to be complicit in a politicized dismantling of public health. We applaud Dr. Daskalakis for standing up for the American people in the face of Trump and RFK Jr.'s relentless attacks on science and sound medical advice.
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