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Susan Monarez worked as the CDC director and Demetre Daskalakis was director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Composite: Bloomberg, AFP, Getty Images

The Saturday Night Massacre courtesy Watergate ... During a single evening on Saturday, October 20, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox; Ruckelshaus refused, and also resigned. Nixon then ordered the third-most-senior official at the Justice Department, Solicitor General Robert Bork, to fire Cox. Bork carried out the dismissal as Nixon asked.[2] Bork stated that he intended to resign afterward, but was persuaded by Richardson and Ruckelshaus to stay on for the good of the Justice Department.[3][4] 

The Watergate complex in 2006

Fast forward to 8/27/2025 ...

Susan Monarez

Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Debra Houry

Former chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science at the CDC

Demetre Daskalakis

Former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC

Daniel Jernigan

Former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the CDC

Jennifer Layden

Former director of office of public health data, science, technology at the CDC

All quit, why?

Monarez was officially removed late on Wednesday following a heated exchange in which the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, attempted to oust her, according to the White House. Her lawyer has countered that Monarez has no intention of resigning.

As she was confirmed by the Senate, unlike previous CDC directors, Monarez technically serves at the will of the president, so Kennedy alone may not have had the authority to terminate her.

Monarez, an infectious disease expert, was sworn in just a month ago by Kennedy but soon found herself at odds with him over vaccine policy, according to individuals familiar with the matter. In the wake of her removal, four senior CDC leaders abruptly resigned, apparently out of frustration with Kennedy’s approach to vaccines and his management style. 

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy; C.D.C. director Susan Monarez.

C.D.C. Standoff: Kennedy’s Push to Fire Director Devolves Into Chaos

Truer words never spoken.