CDC principal deputy Ralph Abraham resigns, leaving agency without its No. 2

Dr. Ralph Abraham abruptly resigned as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s principal deputy director, the agency said, effective immediately, leaving the CDC without its No. 2 and compounding a cascade of senior departures this month. The CDC statement said, “Dr. Abraham led with clarity and discipline, advancing the CDC's mission to protect the health and safety of the American people. He worked directly with career staff and public health partners to strengthen national preparedness and improve the country's emergency response efforts.” The agency added, “Dr. Abraham chose to step down to address unforeseen family obligations.”

Abraham, who said in a separate statement, “It has been an honor to serve alongside the dedicated public health professionals at the CDC and to support the agency's critical mission,” had a short tenure in the role. Reports vary on when he began: CNN said he was sworn in on December 15, 2025; WVTM13 reported he took the position in December; The Guardian said he started on January 5, 2026; CIDRAP characterized his departure as happening after less than two months on the job, and NBC News described his time in the post as about three months.

The resignation follows the recent exit of the acting CDC director, named Jim O’Neill by The Guardian and spelled O’Neil by CIDRAP, who left earlier in February after serving as acting director since August, according to reporting. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, has been tapped to serve as acting CDC director, sources said. The turns of leadership come against a backdrop of broader upheaval at the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with experts and public health advocates warning that staffing cuts, policy disputes and high-level firings have weakened the agency’s capacity.

The departures have immediate public health consequences. CIDRAP noted that public health advocates sharply criticized Abraham last month after he suggested losing the United States’ measles elimination status was the “cost of doing business.” That comment landed amid a surge in cases: the CDC has confirmed nearly 1,000 measles cases this year and 2,281 last year, CIDRAP reported. Critics have also pointed to Abraham’s record as Louisiana’s surgeon general, where he was described by CIDRAP and other outlets as a long-time critic of COVID-19 vaccines and as having delayed a public response to a 2025 pertussis outbreak that preceded the deaths of two infants.

Agency morale and institutional capacity are at stake as the CDC navigates active outbreaks and prepares for future threats. CNN and The Guardian have linked the leadership churn to fractures over vaccine policy and to pressure from HHS, including the abrupt firing of Susan Monarez after she resisted directives she said would have required preapproval of vaccine recommendations “regardless of the scientific evidence,” testimony that CNN reports she later gave to Congress. The Guardian reported that Monarez’s removal prompted several senior officials to resign in protest, and that the agency has also been affected by budget cuts and staff losses.

Public health experts say sustained leadership instability undermines long-term preparedness, complicates relationships with state and local health departments, and can erode public trust at a moment when vaccine-preventable illnesses are resurging. With Abraham gone and other senior posts in flux, the CDC faces pressure to stabilize operations, restore confidence among career staff, and demonstrate that science will guide responses to outbreaks that are already hitting communities unevenly.