The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after his first choice struggled to gain support.

Susan Monarez, a longtime fixture in Washington who has taken on leadership positions in a number of government public health roles, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, crossing yet another position off the lengthy and growing number of nominees awaiting confirmation.

Monarez was confirmed on a 51 to 47 party line vote.

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Across her roughly two-decade career in D.C., she has served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the Department of Health and Human Services and in roles at the White House, including at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council.

She is the first CDC director to undergo the Senate confirmation process after a new law changed the requirement in 2023. Prior to her confirmation, Monarez had served as the acting director of the CDC since the beginning of this year.

But Monarez, who has a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology, was not Trump’s first pick to lead the public health agency, which is tasked with protecting Americans from public health threats.

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The campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is seen Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Trump tapped Monarez in March shortly after withdrawing his nomination of Dr. David Weldon, a former House member, after it was clear that he couldn’t get enough votes from Senate Republicans to make it across the finish line.

He lauded Monarez’s credentials, and charged that Americans had «lost confidence» in the CDC.

«Dr. Monarez will work closely with our GREAT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr,» he said on social media at the time. «Together, they will prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic and, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!»

But questions also linger on how well Monarez and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might work together.

During her confirmation hearing last month, Senate Democrats grilled Monarez over whether she agreed with Kennedy’s positions on vaccines. Kennedy has long been outspoken about his skepticism regarding vaccines, particularly COVID-19 vaccines.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives at Argentina’s Ministry of Health to meet with Health Minister Mario Lugones in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 26, 2025.  (Reuters/Pedro Lazaro Fernandez)

The CDC has been hit with thousands of staff cuts and resignations and subject to changes in vaccine policy — notably Kennedy’s decision to remove the COVID-19 from the vaccine schedule for pregnant women and healthy children — in the last six months. 

«I think vaccines save lives. I think that we need to continue to support the promotion of utilization of vaccines,» Monarez said during her confirmation hearing.

Her confirmation also comes as Kennedy, in his budget request for the HHS, seeks a slash in funding to the CDC of nearly 50%, or from about $9.2 billion to $4.2 billion, for the upcoming fiscal year.

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But Kennedy made clear in an X post at the time of her nomination that he supports Monarez to take on the position.

«I handpicked Susan for this job because she is a longtime champion of MAHA values, and a caring, compassionate and brilliant microbiologist and a tech wizard who will reorient CDC toward public health and gold-standard science,» he said. «I’m so grateful to President Trump for making this appointment.»

And an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, «Once Dr. Monarez is confirmed, the Secretary looks forward to working with her to advance common-sense policies that will Make America Healthy Again.»

The Pope, the State Department, the United Nations and a leading Christian group have all condemned a new major attack on Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which the U.N. says left at least 49 dead.

In the latest attack in a tragic long string of mass murders by Islamist terrorists in both Nigeria and the DRC, the U.N. said rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a sanctioned rebel group allied to Islamic State with roots in Uganda, burst into a church in the Eastern town of Komanda and set about hacking Christians who were worshipping inside with machetes and other knives. The congregation was attacked at 1 a.m. last Sunday morning, while they were on a night vigil, reportedly praying for peace.

The rebels also burnt nearby homes. Nine children are said to be among the dead. Several villagers have been abducted.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, «The United States designated the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), also known as ISIS-DRC, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2021. We are concerned by reports of the recent attack on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and strongly condemn this cowardly act of violence against Christians in their place of worship.»

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Pope Leo XIV also condemned the attack. «May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people.» A Vatican Cardinal added that the Pope «learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack.»

The U.N.’s Stablization Mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, expressed «deep outrage at these heinous acts of violence, which constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and infringements on human rights.»

«The killings are strategic,» Illia Djadi, senior sub-Saharan researcher for Christian charity Open Doors, who support and speak up for Christians persecuted for their faith, stated. He added, «The ADF have a very clear aim: they want to turn a large part of DRC into an Islamic caliphate, like the horrific one instigated in Iraq and Syria in 2014 by Islamic State.»

Contacted by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Djadi said, «The presence of Islamic State groups across the region means that sub-Saharan Africa has become the new epicenter of jihadism.» Muslims are in the minority here; it’s said that Christians account for between 80-95% of the population.

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Villagers walk towards the burial site of 49 Christians killed by jihadists in the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 28th. (Open Doors)

70 Christians were reported beheaded, again in a church in the DRC, in February. The killings of Christians are worse in Nigeria, with Pope Leo XIV telling crowds at the Vatican that «some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty» on June 13 in Yelewata, in Nigeria’s Benue State.

According to Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List (WWL), of the 4,476 Christians killed worldwide in WWL’s latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died (69%) were in Nigeria. 

Djadi told Fox News Digital that despite President Trump’s brokered peace deal in the DRC, Christians in the East of the country are still at risk. «There has been a lot of attention paid to the DRC recently, with Donald Trump spearheading a peace initiative between the DRC and Rwanda, whose rebel fighters the M23 have taken a large proportion of territories in the east of the DRC.»

Christian faithfuls hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja on March 1, 2020. (KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

«However,» Djadi added, «while government forces are trying to contain the M23 in the urban regions, the rural areas are left undefended. It has left a security vacuum, meaning that the ADF are free to slaughter hundreds of innocent civilians with impunity, with Christians especially at risk.

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«It is the primary responsibility of (the) Congolese government to protect the whole nation, regardless of their religious faith or ethnic background. What would happen if the ADF continues its killing unopposed is too awful to contemplate.»

Al menos 31 palestinos murieron y más de 145 resultaron heridos este martes mientras intentaban acceder a la limitada ayuda humanitaria que Israel permite ingresar a la Franja de Gaza, cuya población enfrenta una creciente crisis alimentaria. Así lo informaron fuentes médicas citadas por la agencia española EFE, en un contexto donde los corredores dispuestos para la entrada de suministros presentan altos niveles de violencia.

Cerca del puesto militar de Zikim, el único paso fronterizo actualmente operativo en el norte de Gaza para la entrada de camiones con ayuda, fuerzas israelíes dispararon contra una multitud de personas que esperaba recibir asistencia. Una decena de palestinos perdió la vida en ese incidente, según los relatos recabados.

Otro ataque fue reportado junto al corredor de Netzarim, en el centro de la Franja, donde Israel bombardeó con un dron un grupo de civiles que aguardaban por la llegada de vehículos con suministros. El hospital Al Quds informó que hubo una persona muerta y más de veinte resultaron heridas. La situación se agravó en diferentes puntos de distribución militarizados, gestionados por la Fundación Humanitaria para Gaza (GHF, por sus siglas en inglés), organización respaldada por Israel y Estados Unidos pero bajo amplio cuestionamiento de Naciones Unidas. Trece de las víctimas mortales de este martes se registraron en un centro de ayuda de GHF al sur de Wadi Gaza y otras siete en el sur, en Rafah.

Desde el inicio de las operaciones de GHF a fines de mayo, el Ministerio de Sanidad gazatí contabilizó 1.179 muertos y 7.957 heridos en incidentes vinculados a la recogida de ayuda, asociados a disparos del ejército israelí. Las muertes relacionadas con la hambruna muestran tendencias ascendentes, según las autoridades sanitarias locales, que atribuyen la situación crítica a las estrictas restricciones impuestas por Israel al ingreso de alimentos y medicinas.

A la emergencia humanitaria se sumaron nuevos episodios de violencia. La Defensa Civil de Gaza contabilizó 30 muertos, incluidos 12 menores, en recientes bombardeos nocturnos sobre el campo de refugiados de Nuseirat, en el centro del enclave. Relatos directos describieron escenas de destrucción en viviendas y una elevada presencia de familias afectadas por el conflicto.

Las agencias humanitarias de la ONU renovaron este martes el pedido de incrementar la entrada de ayuda a Gaza de manera urgente y sostenida, argumentando que la región enfrenta riesgo de hambruna masiva. La directora del Programa Mundial de Alimentos, Cindy McCain, subrayó la necesidad de suministrar “alimentos a gran escala, de forma inmediata y sin obstáculos”. Organizaciones como UNICEF y FAO respaldaron ese llamado.

El reporte más reciente de la Clasificación Integrada de la Seguridad Alimentaria (IPC), entidad respaldada por Naciones Unidas, indicó que la crisis alcanzó un “punto alarmante y mortal”. Más de 20.000 niños han sido tratados por desnutrición aguda entre abril y mediados de julio en Gaza y los hospitales reportaron al menos 16 muertes de menores de cinco años en menos de dos semanas.

Si bien Israel anunció ceses temporales en los combates y cierta flexibilización en la entrada de camiones con ayuda, las agencias humanitarias consideran que las medidas actuales no alcanzan para atender las necesidades de la población, que estuvo sometida a un bloqueo total durante casi dos meses. Entre las acciones internacionales recientes, este martes se realizaron lanzamientos aéreos de víveres y el Reino Unido anunció el envío de cargamentos adicionales de ayuda.

En el plano diplomático, el primer ministro británico Keir Starmer declaró que el Reino Unido reconocerá al Estado de Palestina en septiembre si el gobierno israelí no implementa medidas concretas para mejorar la situación en Gaza, como acordar un alto el fuego y permitir que la ONU reanude el suministro de ayuda. Starmer insistió en que este reconocimiento busca contribuir a la perspectiva de una solución de dos Estados. Francia también anunció que respaldará el reconocimiento de Palestina ante la Asamblea General de la ONU.

Mientras tanto, el gobierno israelí mantiene su posición y atribuye al grupo terrorista palestino Hamas la responsabilidad de la crisis humanitaria, acusando a ese grupo de saquear la ayuda y manipular los datos de víctimas. La oficina del primer ministro israelí Benjamin Netanyahu sostuvo que Hamas dispara contra palestinos que buscan asistencia, lo que agrava el acceso a los alimentos.

La guerra en Gaza se inició tras el ataque de Hamas el 7 de octubre de 2023, que dejó 1.219 muertos en Israel, en su mayoría civiles. Desde entonces, la ofensiva israelí ha causado más de 60.000 muertos en Gaza, también en su mayoría civiles, de acuerdo con datos del Ministerio de Salud del enclave, cifras validadas por la ONU. Por otra parte, Israel rechaza la presión internacional para un alto el fuego, definiéndola como una “campaña distorsionada”.

(Con información de AFP y EFE)