According to AP, White House spokesman Kush Desai said that Monarez was not “aligned with” President Trump’s agenda and that her refusal to resign left no option but dismissal. Her lawyers, however, described the decision as retaliation for her commitment to evidence-based health policy.

“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell said in a statement, according to AP.

They added, as reported by NBC News, “Dr Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.”

The White House responded hours later by formally terminating her appointment. “As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again. Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC,” Desai told, the NBC News report added.