On 9/1/2025, the New York Times published a guest essay titled “We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy is Endangering Every American’s Health“.
What the NYT fails to observe is that 7 of the authors were appointed by Democrat Presidents, only 2 by Republicans (1 was acting). And the NYT completely ignores the fact that 7 other individuals (alive today) served as head of the CDC (4 were/are acting) since 1977, all but 1 appointed by a Republican President.
I refuse to subscribe to the New York Times (see for example Time to Panic [about climate change], 2019/02/16), so I have not read the full article. Perhaps the authors have some valid points? But given their clear partisan bias, this appears to be another notch in the NYT’s ever-expanding “misinformation belt”, joining their over three year flogging of the “Russiagate” hoax and the letter signed by 50+ former intelligence officials published only three weeks before the 2020 election claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop was “Russian Disinformation”. Election interference?
Here are the first two paragraphs of the guest essay:
We have each had the honor and privilege of serving as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, either in a permanent or acting capacity, dating back to 1977. Collectively, we spent more than 100 years working at the C.D.C., the world’s pre-eminent public health agency. We served under multiple Republican and Democratic administrations—every president from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump—alongside thousands of dedicated staff members who shared our commitment to saving lives and improving health.
What Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has done to the C.D.C. and to our nation’s public health system over the past several months—culminating in his decision to fire Dr. Susan Monarez as C.D.C. director days ago—is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced.
And here are the names, dates of service and Presidents who appointed every single (acting) CDC director since 1977:
NYT guest essay authors
William H. Foege 1977-1983 Jimmy Carter (D)
William L. Roper 1990-1993 George H.W. Bush (R)
David Satcher 1993-1998 Bill Clinton (D)
Jeffrey P. Koplan 1998-2002 Bill Clinton (D)
Richard Besser (acting) 01-06/2009 Barack Obama (D)
Tom Frieden 2009-2017 Barack Obama (D)
Anne Schuchat (acting) 01-07/2017; 01-03/2018 Donald Trump (R)
Rochelle P. Walensky 2021-2023 Joe Biden (D)
Mandy K. Cohen 2023-2025 Joe Biden (D)
Other CDC leaders since 1977
James O. Mason 1983-1989 Ronald Reagan (R) //** Died 10/9/2019
Julie L. Gerberding 2002-2009 George W. Bush (R)
Brenda Fitzgerald 2017-2018 Donald Trump (R)
Robert R. Redfield 2018-2021 Donald Trump (R)
Nirav D. Shah (Acting) 07/2023 Joe Biden (D)
Susan Monarez (Acting) 01-03/2025 Donald Trump (R)
Susan Monarez 07-08/2025 Donald Trump (R)
Jim O’Neill (Acting) 08/2025-now Donald Trump (R)
Ben Slivka 