President Trump backs Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr .’s decision to fire the head of the health agency in charge of preventing disease outbreaks in the U.S., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

The show of support came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was plunged into chaos, as director Susan Monarez, a Trump appointee and longstanding government scientist, was fired along with other officials. Monarez, who the Senate confirmed as the CDC’s new leader in July, claims through her attorneys she was fired after a disagreement about the scientific rigor of orders Kennedy was handing down. Her departure was announced abruptly on the Health and Human Services’ X account Wednesday night.

Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, l

See Full Page