Fear and politics pervade Kennedy’s CDC, former leaders testify

The nation’s top health agency is not well, according to a portrait that emerged in testimony Wednesday by two of its former leaders.

Susan Monarez, abruptly fired 29 days into her tenure as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Debra Houry, who resigned as chief medical officer that day, provided new detail about stresses on the agency under questioning at a hearing before a Senate health committee.