Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, the controversial Director of the Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Ailments (NIAID).
Dr. Marrazzo, who was appointed in 2023 underneath Joe Biden’s NIH as a alternative for serial liar Dr. Anthony Fauci, constructed her fame as a loyal defender of the COVID regime: pushing lockdowns, championing vaccine and masks mandates for each adults and youngsters, and smearing medical doctors who dared to query the official narrative.
She famously blasted physicians selling hydroxychloroquine as “despicable” and accused them of “violating their oath.”
Earlier than taking up at NIAID, Marrazzo was the director of the Division of Infectious Ailments on the College of Alabama at Birmingham.
She labored intently with the World Well being Group (WHO) and different international our bodies that sought to dictate pandemic coverage worldwide.
She was positioned on indefinite depart in March and, by September, had filed a whistleblower grievance with the U.S. Workplace of Particular Counsel, alleging illegal retaliation.
In response, RFK Jr. fired her.
On Wednesday, CBS News reported that Dr. Marrazzo acquired a letter from Secretary RFK Jr. notifying her that she had been faraway from her place as director of the NIH’s Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Ailments.
Kennedy gave no rationalization past citing his constitutional authority.
Final month, in an exclusive interview with CBS Information, Marrazzo claimed she had been silenced when she and her colleagues pushed again towards NIH officers appointed by President Trump who questioned the significance of childhood flu vaccines and canceled long-running scientific trials.
In a press release issued by her attorneys, Marrazzo alleged that her termination was retaliation. Simply 22 days earlier, she had filed a whistleblower grievance with the Workplace of Particular Counsel accusing HHS of “politicizing science,” canceling vaccine-related analysis, and exhibiting “baseless hostility” towards COVID pictures.
Her legal professional, Debra Katz, blasted the firing:
“The Trump Administration terminated Dr. Marrazzo for her advocacy on behalf of important well being analysis and for her assist of the overwhelming physique of proof that reveals vaccines are secure and efficient.
“The proof that the Trump Administration eliminated Dr. Marrazzo for unlawful causes was already highly effective. After elevating considerations for months after the brand new administration took workplace, Dr. Marrazzo was knowledgeable in March 2025 that she could be transferred to the Indian Well being Service – a retaliatory switch that she by no means in truth was given. Now, along with her firing, there isn’t a doubt she was faraway from her place as Director of NIAID in retaliation for her protected whistleblower exercise.
“Dr. Marrazzo bravely got here ahead to warn the general public in regards to the dangers posed by the Administration’s hostile strategy to vaccines and to guard public well being analysis. Although she has filed a grievance with the Workplace of Particular Counsel – an unbiased company eviscerated by President Trump – she has been left with no actual avenues of recourse. I urge Congress to behave to supply significant oversight and accountability at HHS.”
In a press release after her firing, Marrazzo repeated her declare of political retaliation:
“I took on the function of NIAID director as a result of I needed to steer the premier biomedical analysis group on the planet. I proudly stand by my management of the Institute and the 1000’s of dedicated scientists and employees who make important, lifesaving analysis potential.
“My termination, sadly, reveals that the leaders of HHS and the Nationwide Institutes of Well being don’t share my dedication to scientific integrity and public well being. Congress should act to guard scientific analysis from those that would serve political pursuits first.”
