The White House on Wednesday said President Donald Trump has fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign, and will name a new replacement soon.

"The president fired her, which he has every right to do," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing.

She said Trump has "the authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission," and that he or Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will announce a new director "very soon.

It comes hours after Monarez's lawyers said she remains in the role because she is a presidential appointee and only Trump can fire her. Her lawyers did not immediately respond to a request to confirm that the president has fired Monarez, who was sworn in a few week

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