Fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez will get a chance to testify next week before the Senate about the events leading up to her termination by President Donald Trump.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee announced on Tuesday evening that Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr.  Debra Houry will be testifying following significant controversy over vaccine policy.

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Monarez had a confirmation hearing before the HELP committee this summer before being confirmed by the full Senate, was on the job only 29 days before Trump fired her after a contentious disagreement with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over COVID-19 vaccine policy.

Hours before the announcement of Monarez’s termination, Kennedy announced via social media that the Food and Drug Administration granted approval for the COVID-19 vaccines for this upcoming season only for seniors over age 65 and those with one or more comorbidities that would put them at risk for severe disease.

Monarez reportedly disagreed with Kennedy about this decision and his directive for her to fire all of her senior-level staff. 

Several days later, Monarez published a Wall Street Journal opinion piece in which she said that Kennedy demanded that she rubber-stamp upcoming vaccine decisions from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Earlier this summer, Kennedy disbanded the ACIP and replaced the membership with those more aligned with his vaccine-skeptical views. 

Houry, along with immunizations and respiratory disease specialist Dr. Demetre Daskalakis and zoonotic disease specialist Dr. Daniel Jernigan, resigned shortly after Monarez’s termination. 

Committee staff did not immediately clarify for the Washington Examiner whether Jernigan and Daskalakis were invited to testify before the committee.

Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician by training, said in a press release that the Trump administration’s commitment to “radical transparency” is the only way to restore trust in the CDC, and that includes shining a light on the recent leadership turmoil.

“To protect children’s health, Americans need to know what has happened and is happening at the CDC,” said Cassidy. “They need to be reassured that their child’s health is given priority. Radical transparency is the only way to do that.” 

In recent weeks, Cassidy has stressed the importance of access to vaccines as a public health tool, particularly the infant Hepatitis B vaccine, which has been controversial among anti-vaccine advocates and vaccine skeptics. 

Following Monarez’s termination and the resignation of the other health officials, Cassidy called for ACIP’s September meeting to be postponed until a public hearing on the CDC’s leadership turnover.

Cassidy is not the only Republican to have expressed his frustration, particularly over vaccine policy.

During Kennedy’s testimony before the Senate Finance Committee last week, Republican Majority Whip Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), also a physician, pressed Kennedy on whether Trump’s achievement in fast-tracking mRNA COVID-19 vaccines deserved a Nobel Prize. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is not seeking reelection, also questioned Kennedy about vaccine policy. 

Several other Republicans, including Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), signaled that they were frustrated with Monarez’s dismissal, given that they only weeks ago worked through her confirmation process to get her into office. 

But others have still come out in strong support of Kennedy, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who praises him for his willingness to address entrenched problems at the CDC. Tuberville said Kennedy is controversial because he “isn’t scared of the swamp.”

Houry said in an interview with medical news website MedPageToday that she, Daskalakis, and Jernigan timed their resignations together as an “alert to what was going on in public health.”

“And if Congress will allow CDC to function as it should and make sure it has the appropriate resources, and the secretary allows our scientific experts to do things in a data-driven way and not ideologic, that’s what’s important,” said Houry.

The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17, at 10 AM Eastern time.