Fired CDC Chief Hits Back at RFK Jr. on Vaccines

Good evening. A government shutdown at the end of the month is looking increasingly likely as Republicans barrel ahead with their plan for a seven-week stopgap spending bill, teeing up a House vote later this week - a vote that, if it succeeds, would set up a showdown with Democrats, who insist they don't want a shutdown but won't back a "clean" short-term funding extension that doesn't address healthcare needs. "Donald Trump gave us the middle finger, there is no alternative," one unnamed Democratic senator reportedly told The Hill.

Here's what else is happening.

'No Risk-Free Paths Now': Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate for First Time This Year

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday amid concerns about the strength of the labor market, while bank officials sent mixed signals about making additional cuts later this year.

At the conclusion of a two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee said it has reduced the interbank lending rate to a range between 4.0% and 4.25%. It was the first rate cut since December 2024.

In a statement providing a summary of its views, the FOMC said the U.S. economy continues to expand at a "solid pace," but job growth has slowed and inflation remains moderately above the Fed's 2% target rate.

In a press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that officials are concerned about the labor market, even as unemployment remains low by historical standards. "Downside risks to employment appear to have risen," he said.

Earlier this year, Fed officials were more concerned about the risk of inflation as they monitored the effects of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Powell said the risks to employment and inflation have moved closer to balance, warranting a shift in rate policy toward a neutral rather slightly restrictive stance. Powell characterized the rate cut as an exercise in "risk management."

Powell also signaled that the outlook is uncertain. "There are no risk-free paths now," he said. "It's not incredibly obvious what to do."

All but one of the 12 members of the FOMC voted to cut rates by a quarter point. The lone dissenter was Stephen Miran, the White House economist who was just confirmed to fill a vacant seat on the Fed board. Miran wanted a larger cut of 50 basis points, echoing Trump's repeated calls for sharply lower interest rates. Powell noted that there was not "very much support" for a larger cut among Fed officials.

Plotting the future: Economic projections released Wednesday show that Fed officials have different views on how they expect the central bank to proceed in the coming months. Ten of the 19 policymakers indicated that they expect to see two or more rate cuts by the end of the year, while seven estimated that there would be no more cuts in 2025 and two said they expect to see just one more.

Inflation is expected to remain above target, with the median projection for inflation coming in at 3.0% for 2025 and 2.6% for 2026. Inflation is not projected to return to the Fed's 2.0% target until 2028.

Economic growth will continue to putter along, Fed officials predicted, with growth remaining below 2.0% over the next four years. Unemployment is projected to rise modestly to 4.5% this year, moving gradually down to 4.2% by 2028.

What the experts are saying: Analysts said the Fed's latest policy move confirms that the economy is in a period of marked uncertainty, potentially pushing the central bank in opposite directions and providing reasons for caution. Powell noted that inflation has moved higher, and the threat of further price pressure remains in place as Trump's tariffs work their way through the economy. At the same time, job growth has weakened, and Fed officials expect unemployment to rise by the end of the year.

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said on social media that the Fed's projections indicate that both inflation and unemployment will rise in the coming months - a combination she called "stagflation-lite."

Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, said the takeaway is that the Fed will continue to cut rates to support the labor market. "The message is clear," he said, per Bloomberg, "growth and employment are the priority, even if that means tolerating higher inflation in the near term."

Former CDC Chief Says She Was Fired for Standing Up for Science

Susan Monarez, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told senators Wednesday that she was fired last month after just 29 days on the job "for holding the line on scientific integrity" by refusing demands made by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that she said "were inconsistent with my oath of office and the ethics required of a public official."

Monarez testified that she refused Kennedy's request that she pre-approve the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel he had installed and do so "regardless of the scientific evidence." She said she also rebuffed his demand that she fire "without cause" career scientists responsible for vaccine policy.

"Even under pressure, I could not replace evidence with ideology or compromise my integrity," Monarez said. "Vaccine policy must be guided by credible data, not predetermined outcomes."

Kennedy has come under fire for the drastic changes he is overseeing at the nation's health agencies, with experts charging that he is pursuing a dangerous anti-vaccine ideological agenda that ignores scientific and medical consensus.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who is the ranking member on the Senate health committee, said that Wednesday's hearing was about more than just determining why Monarez was fired. "The issue is deeper than that," he said in opening remarks. "It is about Secretary Kennedy's dangerous war on science, public health and the truth itself. Unacceptably, we now have an HHS secretary who does not believe in established science and who listens to conspiracy theorists and ideologues rather than doctors and medical professionals. It is absurd to have to say this in the year 2025 but vaccines are safe and effective. That, of course, is not just my view. Far more importantly, it is the overwhelming consensus of the medical and scientific communities."

Monarez also testified that:

• Kennedy told her the childhood vaccination schedule would change starting in September and that he had spoken with the White House multiple times about the vaccine schedule and about having her removed;
• Kennedy asked her to meet with Aaron Siri, a lawyer who petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to remove its approval of the polio vaccine;
• Kennedy's office told her that she would have to have political staff sign off on policy and personnel decisions.

She also described a meeting during which she said Kennedy blasted the CDC, calling it "the most corrupt federal agency in the world" and claiming that its staff was "bought by the pharmaceutical industry" and was "killing children."

Kennedy has defended his overhaul of the CDC and other agencies he leads, arguing that they have failed to keep America healthy. He told senators at a hearing earlier this month that he ousted Monarez because she told him she was not trustworthy.

Some Republicans on the Senate panel backed Kennedy's criticisms of the CDC's track record, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and questioned official vaccine guidance. Some Republicans also criticized Monarez for hiring Mark Zaid, a lawyer known for speaking out against President Trump, to be her attorney.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky questioned the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine in children and the need for giving the Hepatitis B vaccine to newborns. "The burden is upon you, and the people you wouldn't fire to prove to us that we need to give our 6-month-old Covid vaccine and that we need to give our 1-day-old a hepatitis B vaccine," he said. "That's what the debate ought to be about - not whether all vaccines are good, or whether we live in Alice in Wonderland."

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, who is an OB/GYN, said that Monarez's belief system did not align with Kennedy's or the president's. "The biggest difference in philosophy that I see, is that I think the CDC is the cause of vaccine hesitancy. That you are the problem," Marshall said.

Monarez defended the CDC and said that the agency's recommendations are not mandates. "The childhood vaccine schedule has been vetted and validated," she said. "I think that every parent should have the opportunity to talk to their pediatrician and make sure that they understand the benefits and the risks of those vaccines and what is in the best interest of their children."

Dr. Debra Houry, the former chief medical officer at the CDC who was one of three top officials to resign last month, also testified before the Senate panel. She said that Kennedy's policies were putting American lives at risk and called for him to resign.

Asked what keeps her up at night, Monarez said she worries about the next pandemic outbreak. "I don't believe that we'll be prepared," she said. Houry offered a similar answer: "I'm concerned about the future of CDC and public health in our country. Given what I have seen, we are not prepared, not just for pandemics but for preventing chronic health disease, and we're going to see kids dying of vaccine-preventable diseases."

What's next: Kennedy's reconstituted vaccine advisory panel will meet Thursday and Friday. Monarez warned about the potential outcome. "There is real risk that recommendations could be made restricting access to vaccines for children and others in need without rigorous scientific review," she said.

Quote of the Day

"Firing your chief statistician is a dangerous step. That's an attack on the independence of an institution arguably as important as the Federal Reserve for economic stability. It has serious economic consequences, but that they would do this with no warning - it made no sense."

– Erika McEntarfer, the former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in a speech Tuesday at her alma mater, Bard College. McEntarfer was fired by President Trump on August 1 after her agency released a dismal monthly jobs report that the president baselessly claimed was "rigged."

"Economic data must be free from partisan influence," McEntarfer said in her speech, reportedly adding, "The best hope is that interference stops with firing me."

Fiscal News Roundup

• House Eyes Friday Vote on Stopgap as Partisan Tensions Flare – Politico
• Democrats Say Shutdown Necessary to Send 'Message' to Trump – The Hill
• Five Key Moments From Fired CDC Director's Senate Testimony – Washington Post
• GOP Shows Division on Kennedy During Monarez Appearance – Roll Call
• Western States Issue Their Own Vaccine Recommendations to Counter Kennedy – New York Times
• Fed Announces First Rate Cut in Nine Months, Signals More Reductions to Come – CNN
• 'No Risk-Free Paths': Fed Cuts Rates as Trump Ally Presses Central Bank to Go Bigger – Politico
• Fired BLS Chief Breaks Silence, Calls Her Dismissal a 'Dangerous Step' – Wall Street Journal
• Team Trump's Answer to Ballooning Obamacare Premiums: Less Generous Coverage – KFF Health News
• U.S. Government to Invest $75 Million in Ukraine's Minerals – New York Times
• Hill Added $100 Billion-Plus Since 2022 on Unrequested Weapons – Roll Call
• Federal Courts Want More Money From Congress for Security – New York Times
• NPR to Trim $5 Million This Year as Public Radio Stations Struggle to Pay Bills – NPR
• Major Health Insurer Group Says Members Will Continue to Cover Vaccines, a Step That May Ease Anxiety Over Access – STAT
• Amazon Spends $1 Billion to Increase Pay and Lower Health Care Costs for US Workers – Associated Press

Views and Analysis

• The Bond Market Won't Like These Fed Rate Cuts – Jonathan Levin, Bloomberg
• It's Trump's Federal Reserve Now – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
• Is the Economy as Healthy as Trump Claims? – Colby Smith, New York Times
• The Two-Speed Economy Is Back as Low-Income Americans Give Up Gains – Jeanne Whalen, Wall Street Journal
• Britain and France's Debt Crises Are Bad. America's Will Be Worse – Jessica Riedl, Washington Post
• The Problem With Taxing the Rich – Emma Agyemang, Financial Times
• Liberation Day Tariffs Are an Increasingly Costly Mistake – Bloomberg Editorial Board
• Trump's Tariffs on Aluminum Kill U.S. Factory Jobs – Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal
• Why the Plaza Accord Is Still the Gold Standard – Daniel Moss and Gearoid Reidy, Bloomberg
• Trump's Medicaid Cuts Could Hamper Efforts to House the Homeless – Jason DeParle, New York Times
• Projected Surge in Uninsured Will Strain Local Health Systems – Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam, KFF Health News
• More Americans Going Hungry, Worst Still to Come – Whitney Curry Wimbish, American Prospect
• The $15 Trillion Emergency Spending Loophole – Dominik Lett, CATO Institute