White House names RFK Jr deputy Jim O'Neill as replacement CDC director

Lawyers for Dr Susan Monarez say only the president can remove her from her job running the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Jim O'Neill currently serves as the deputy to Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, and will replace Susan Monarez after she was in the role for just a month.

Lawyers representing Dr Monarez said her sacking was illegal, and alleged she was targeted by Kennedy because she refused "to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives".

The reason for her removal was that she was "not aligned with the president's agenda", the White House said in a statement.

Kennedy: CDC leadership needs to execute on Trump's "broad ambitions"O'Neill is a former Silicon Valley tech investor and takes over the CDC at a time when some of its leading officials are deeply divided over vaccine policies.