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Jim O’Neill to be acting director of CDC [1]
['Daniel Payne', 'Chelsea Cirruzzo', 'Daniel Payne Reports On How The Health Industry', 'Washington Influence', 'Impact Each Other. He Joined Stat In After Covering Health Care At Politico. You Can Reach Daniel On Signal At', 'Chelsea Cirruzzo Is A Washington Correspondent At Stat', 'Where She Covers Hhs. You Can Reach Chelsea On Signal At', 'Washington Correspondent', 'Isabella Cueto', 'Elizabeth Cooney']
Date: 2025-08-28
Daniel Payne reports on how the health industry and Washington influence and impact each other. He joined STAT in 2025 after covering health care at POLITICO. You can reach Daniel on Signal at danielp.100.
Chelsea Cirruzzo is a Washington correspondent at STAT, where she covers HHS. You can reach Chelsea on Signal at chelseacirruzzo.42.
WASHINGTON — Jim O’Neill, deputy to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will become acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after Susan Monarez was suddenly ousted from her role on Wednesday, a White House official confirmed in an email.
O’Neill was sworn in as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in June, charged with overseeing the department’s day-to-day operations and the operations of all its sub-agencies, whose missions include running the Medicare and Medicaid program, leading public health emergency preparedness, shaping federal research, and more.
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On Thursday, O’Neill shared a post on social media that seemed to support the decision to oust Monarez and blamed the CDC itself for the public’s lack of trust in health authorities.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
The permanent leader of the CDC must be confirmed by the Senate.
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Related Story Amid chaos at CDC, Kennedy consolidates his power
O’Neill is a former biotech investor who also has past experience at HHS, having worked on pandemic preparedness, FDA reform, public health, and other projects; on social media, he has aligned himself with Kennedy. He also co-founded the Thiel Fellowship, along with conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, and said in public disclosures that he worked as a “policy volunteer” for the Trump transition team from November 2024 to January 2025.
In public filings, O’Neill also disclosed a history of working with vaccine makers and health firms, including ADvantage Therapeutics, which is developing a vaccine to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and Rational Vaccines, which is developing a shot for herpes. O’Neill pledged to discontinue all his work with those companies after he joined the administration.
The staffing announcement comes amid continued uncertainty for CDC staff, who were told Thursday to expect to return to the Atlanta offices by Monday, Sept. 15, following a deadly shooting at the headquarters in August.
The move comes amid larger changes at the agency. Several top officials resigned amid the struggle between Kennedy and Monarez.
And in an email instructing staff to return to the Atlanta office next month, Lynda Chapman was identified as the agency’s new chief operating officer, according to an email reviewed by STAT. However, as of Thursday evening, the CDC website still lists Christa Capozzola as acting COO, with no public mention of Chapman.
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[1] Url:
https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/jim-oneill-cdc-acting-director/
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