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The White House criticized CDC official Dr Demetre Daskalakis for using "pregnant people" in his resignation letter, amid mass resignations over vaccination policy changes and growing concerns about leadership turmoil at the agency.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. (Photo: X)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 29, 2025 03:06 IST
The White House has downplayed growing turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after the resignation of Dr Demetre Daskalakis, who faced criticism for using the term “pregnant people” in his resignation letter. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday dismissed concerns about a broader exodus of senior public health officials, saying, “He identifies pregnant women as ‘pregnant people,’ so that’s not someone we want in this administration anyway.”
Leavitt added that the administration was focused on “restoring trust, transparency, and credibility” at the CDC. “If people are not aligned with the President’s and Secretary Kennedy’s mission to make our country healthy again, then we will gladly show them the door,” she said.
Daskalakis, who served as director of the Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, announced his resignation on Wednesday following the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez.
In a letter posted on X, he wrote that he could “no longer 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 specifically warned that recent changes to adult and children’s immunisation schedules “threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
My resignation letter from CDC.
Dear Dr. Houry,
I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.— DrDemetre (@dr_demetre) August 27, 2025
His statement further criticised the lack of transparency under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership and linked the current climate to broader safety concerns: “My grandfather stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.”
WAVE OF RESIGNATIONS AT CDC
While Daskalakis has been vocal in his criticism, he is not alone. Three other senior officials—Daniel Jernigan, Debra Houry, and Jen Layden—have also resigned in protest over Kennedy’s vaccination policy changes, following the dismissal of Monarez.
Their departures have fuelled concern about a growing leadership vacuum at the CDC and sparked protests outside the agency’s Atlanta headquarters, where employees carried “save CDC” signs and expressed support for the outgoing officials.
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Published By:
Aashish Vashistha
Published On:
Aug 29, 2025
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