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A high-ranking CDC official who stepped down from his role this week conveyed a message of resistance in his resignation letter by incorporating his pronouns and the phrase ‘pregnant people.’
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, formerly the chief of immunizations, resigned amid a reshuffle triggered by President Donald Trump’s dismissal of director Susan Monarez. He was one of three senior officials to depart.
The ex-New York City monkeypox czar concluded his tenure with a letter that included pronouns in his signature, an act prohibited for federal employees by Trump’s directive, and opted for the inclusive term ‘pregnant people’ instead of women.
He said: ‘The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.’
At the end, he added a signature referring to himself as ‘Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him).’
Speaking to CNN, he made it clear that he was doing this to rebel against his former bosses.
‘I very specifically use the term pregnant people, and very specifically added my pronouns at the end of my resignation letter to make the point that I am defying this terrible strategy at trying to erase people and not allowing them to express their identities,’ he said.
He then shot directly back at White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said that his use of those terms meant that Daskalakis is ‘not someone we want in this administration anyway.’
Top CDC and vaccine official Dr. Demetre Daskalakis (pictured) issued a final message of defiance in his resignation letter by including his pronouns and the phrase ‘pregnant people’
The CDC has gone through an upheaval this week as Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have fired its top official
Daskalakis countered: ‘So I accept the note from the press secretary and counter that with I don’t care.’
Monarez had clashed with vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr over his vaccine policy overhaul.
According to the Washington Post, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was pressing Monarez for days on whether she would support his efforts to rescind approvals for COVID vaccines.
But each time, Monarez declined to commit to supporting changes to the COVID vaccine guidelines without first consulting her advisors, one insider claimed.
That eventually prompted Kennedy to call for her resignation on Monday for ‘not supporting President Trump’s agenda.’
When Monarez then refused to leave her post, Kennedy reportedly demanded she fire some of the CDC’s other top officials including Houry, Jernigan and Daskalakis.
At that point, Monarez decided to get Sen. Bill Casey, the Republican chairman of the Senate health committee, involved, administration officials say.
That seemed to just make Kennedy angrier, however, as he summoned the CDC director to a follow-up meeting on Tuesday in which he reportedly accused her of ‘being a leaker.’
Monarez, an established federal government scientist, was confirmed in July by the Senate
Daskalakis, right, is seen here alongside Dr. Daniel Jernigan, left, and Dr. Debra Houry, who all departed in solidarity
Employees of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) line up to honor officials at its global headquarters in Atlanta
By Wednesday, the White House told Monarez that if she did not plan to resign by the end of the day, the president would fire her, the New York Times reports.
Monarez’s firing led hundreds of CDC workers to walk out of the agency’s Atlanta headquarters Thursday.
They not only honored Monarez, but lined the sidewalks and applauded as three other senior leaders who resigned in protest , including Daskalakis.
The turmoil spurred rare bipartisan alarm as Kennedy tries to advance anti-vaccine policies that are contradicted by decades of scientific research.
Two Republican senators called for congressional oversight, independent Bernie Sanders demanded an investigation and some Democrats said Kennedy should be fired. He is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on Sept. 4.
Kennedy has not explained the decision to oust Monarez less than a month after she was sworn in, but he warned that more turnover may be ahead.
Monarez and Kennedy had been sparring for days before she was ultimately fired on Wednesday.
Speaking to CNN, Daskalakis made no bones about the fact that he was doing this to rebel against his former bosses
Monarez’s attorneys claimed that Kennedy does not have the authority to fire her, as she was the first CDC director in American history to be confirmed by the Senate.
The lawyers then said Monarez ‘has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.’
Attorneys Mark S. Zaid and Abbe Lowell also argued that Monarez’s ousting was symbolic of larger issues within the federal government.
‘It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts and the dangerous politicization of science,’ the lawyers said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jennifer Layden, who led the office of public health data joined Jernigan, Daskalakis and Houry in quitting.
They cited an increasingly tense environment working with the Trump administration – and hit out at Kennedy in emails to their colleagues announcing their departure.
Monarez was chosen to replace Trump’s first choice in the job, former Republican congressman Dave Weldon, who was criticized for his views on vaccines and autism.
At her confirmation hearing, Monarez positioned herself as an ardent supporter of vaccines – in contrast with Kennedy, who has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories that the jabs cause autism.
It was then thought that Monarez would help deter Kennedy from going after America’s vaccine policy, but her short tenure was marred by low morale.
