California Gov. Gavin Newsom and two other Democrat governors are forming a health alliance to defy Trump's CDC guidelines. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
All 17 members of the ACIP were dismissed in June as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. vowed to "restore public trust" in vaccine guidance.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson launched the West Coast Health Alliance Wednesday, just a day before Kennedy testified on vaccines before the Senate Finance Committee. The hearing comes just a month after CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired.
"President Trump’s mass firing of CDC doctors and scientists — and his blatant politicization of the agency — is a direct assault on the health and safety of the American people," the governors said in a joint statement. "The CDC has become a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science, ideology that will lead to severe health consequences. California, Oregon, and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk."
BIPARTISAN FURY AT CDC: SENATORS DEMAND PROBE, REJECT VACCINE GUIDANCE AS ILLEGITIMATE
A doctor shows a vial of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine. (PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images)
The CDC has been in turmoil for months after the Trump administration moved to clean house at the agency, firing hundreds of staffers and dismantling divisions long accused of political bias. In late August, CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted less than a month into the job after resisting new vaccine directives, triggering a wave of resignations by senior officials.
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According to the Washington Post, anonymous CDC officials said HHS leaders, including Kennedy Jr., pressed Monarez to withdraw approvals for certain COVID-19 vaccines. When she refused to go along, administration officials told her she had to resign or face termination. Monarez has since retained attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, who previously said she "has neither resigned nor yet been fired."
The blue states say the new policies will be finalized in the coming weeks.
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-health-agenda-sparks-revolt-3-west-coast-governors-form-vaccine-alliance