Rx Post Facto

The latest government cut made by the Trump administration is a single consonant. But it’s a pretty important one. At this point, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) might as well be renamed the CD, as RFK Jr’s quackery-based attacks on facts and science are squeezing out the experts who know something about the control and prevention part of the job. Susan Monarez, the recently confirmed head of the agency, barely had time to set up her office before she was removed from it. According to Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting CDC director: “She said that there were two things she would never do in the job. She said she was asked to do both of those, one in terms of firing her leadership, who are talented civil servants like herself, and the other was to rubber stamp [vaccine] recommendations that flew in the face of science, and she was not going to do either of those things.” The firing and constant political meddling led several other top CDC leaders to quit. “We knew … if she leaves, we don’t have scientific leadership anymore.” So now what? We’ll see a familiar pattern take place. Qualified people get fired or leave. Sycophants, stooges, frauds, charlatans, lackeys, lickspittles, bootlickers, and phonies take over. And this prescription is being filled across all of government, making the prognosis for the country’s health, both now and into the future, increasingly bleak.

+ Trump, Gabbard fired top CIA Russia expert days after Alaska summit. Meanwhile, Intelligence Chief Gabbard Slammed for Identifying Undercover CIA Officer. The worst people firing the best people. What could possibly go wrong? (That’s not a rhetorical question. There are plenty of concrete answers throughout today’s headlines. And every other day’s as well.)