A person holds a sign reading “Vaccines save lives” during a protest outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, where the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting, in Atlanta, in December. President Donald Trump hasn’t named a director for the organization despite a legal deadline. File Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA
March 26 (UPI) — The Trump administration has missed a legal deadline to nominate a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the ouster of Susan Monarez in August.
Federal law requires that agency director positions not be vacant for more than 210 days. The deadline expired at midnight Wednesday.
Since Monarez, there have been two acting directors: Jim O’Neill and Jay Bhattacharya, who is also the director of the National Institutes of Health.
On Thursday, the White House said it would nominate someone soon but gave no specific timeline.
“Restoring competence and confidence in CDC decision-making remains a top priority for the White House after the Biden administration’s COVID excesses,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “Dr. Jay Bhattacharya’s leadership at the CDC is a great service to the country and he has now been delegated to provide continuity in day-to-day CDC processes until the White House nominates a permanent CDC director in short order.”
Finding someone who fits the administration’s mission who will also be able to win Senate confirmation is a challenge, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity.
The administration has a short list of people to nominate, that includes: Former Republican Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher, Mississippi health director Daniel Edney and Johns Hopkins cardiologist Joseph Marine, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
The New York Times obtained a recording of a call Bhattacharya made with CDC staff Wednesday on which he said he planned to name new leaders for the agency’s institutes who had left. He also promised to help shore up the agency so that it “is in a solid, secure place, ready to do the work without so much of the turmoil that we’ve seen the last year.”
The CDC has had issues over the past year.
On March 16, a judge ruled that changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, made by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and a CDC vaccine committee, violated federal law.
On Feb. 23, Ralph Abraham, the CDC principal deputy director and vaccine skeptic, announced he was stepping down from his position to “address unforeseen family obligations.” He had only been in the position for about three months.
In September, Kennedy testified before the Senate about his anti-vaccine policies and turmoil at the CDC.
President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
