Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

But several former officials disagreed with that assessment, noting that the CDC has offered little leadership or clear communication even as, in just a few months, the nation has grappled with record cases of measles, cyclosporiasis, and rabies.

Imagine losing a third of a city's firefighters and then wondering why downtown is burning, said Dr. Jonathan Merman, who led the agency's Center for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections until April 2025, and is now the dean of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

From the very first day of Mr. Trump's second term, when he withdrew the country from the World Health Organization, his administration has sought to upend the nation's health policies and align them with his political priorities.

In past administrations, just two or three political appointees had purview over the CDC.

And then that turned into a job, and it turned into another job.

It turned into a move to another NGO affiliated with the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

And while I was a Columbia employee, I had the benefit of free tuition benefits.

And so I started taking classes in the narrative medicine master's program at Columbia.