The agency is, once again, without steady, in-person leadership<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
TUESDAY, Feb. 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Leadership uncertainty at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deepened this week after the agency\u2019s second-in-command suddenly resigned.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the CDC announced that Ralph Abraham<\/a>, its deputy secretary general, stepped down effective immediately.<\/p>\n Abraham had been in the role for about two and a half months.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a> posted on the CDC\u2019s website, Abraham said he was leaving due to \u201cunforeseen family obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been an honor to serve alongside the dedicated public health professionals at the CDC and to support the agency\u2019s critical mission,\u201d Abraham said.<\/p>\n Several CDC employees told STAT News<\/em> they were not told directly about Abraham\u2019s departure. Instead, many learned about it through the agency\u2019s website or news reports.<\/p>\n The CDC is currently led by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya<\/a>, who was named acting director last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bhattacharya is also director of the National Institutes of Health, meaning he is holding two major federal health roles at once.<\/p>\n It isn’t likely that Bhattacharya will move to the CDC\u2019s headquarters in Atlanta or spend much time there.<\/p>\n His predecessor, Jim O\u2019Neill<\/a>, also worked remotely while managing another federal job.<\/p>\n Unlike others in leadership roles, the departing Abraham was physically based in Atlanta and worked from the CDC campus.<\/p>\n Some staffers said much of the CDC\u2019s day-to-day direction now comes from political appointees in Washington, D.C., many of whom do not have backgrounds in medicine or public health.<\/p>\n Abraham, a former Louisiana surgeon general, started the job in early January after being sworn in late last year.<\/p>\n His exit follows a plethora of leadership changes. The CDC has had a full-time director for only about four weeks during the current Trump administration.<\/p>\n That director, Susan Monarez<\/a>, was removed late last summer after refusing to fully accept vaccine policy recommendations from a panel backed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, according to past reports.<\/p>\n The CDC will continue to operate under uncertainty over who is really in charge, and how long current leadership arrangements will last.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn more about the priorities of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>. <\/p>\n