For decades, the scientific independence of America’s public health agencies rested on a bipartisan understanding. Presidential administrations disagreed about health policy, sometimes profoundly, but their health secretaries generally respected the expertise and established processes of agencies like the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration.
In June 2025, Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with his own appointees. No prior secretary had done this. Congress had given U.S. Health and Human Services secretaries broad authority and relied on their restraint. Restraint is a tradition, and the past year shows it can end.
Elected leaders have a legitimate role in setting national health priorities and holding agencies accountable. That role ends where scientific judgment begins, and Congress should draw the line in statute:
Require documented, public evidence reviews behind any major change to a scientific recommendation.
Protect career scientists’ ability to publish findings and communicate evidence, and create an independent office to investigate political interference, with whistleblower protections.
Rebuild the CDC’s workforce and expertise
The CDC has lost more than a quarter of its workforce since 2024. The losses include epidemiologists who investigate outbreaks, laboratory scientists who identify emerging pathogens, specialists who evaluate evidence, and professionals who work with state and local health departments. That expertise takes years to develop.
COVID exposed confusion about the separate roles of the federal and state governments. The CDC could issue guidance, but implementation depended on state and local officials working under different laws, budgets, and political pressures.
Pair independence with accountability
Scientific independence invites scrutiny, and protecting the CDC from political interference makes meaningful accountability more important. Congress should establish public measures of performance.
An independent body should evaluate these questions, accounting for outcomes that depend on state and local partners. The purpose is to find weaknesses and improve performance.
For eight decades, the CDC has protected Americans from infectious diseases and other health threats. Americans deserve a CDC whose science they can trust, whose expertise is protected, and whose ability to safeguard their health does not depend on who occupies the White House.
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