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CDC's Deputy Secretary General Steps Down Just 2.5 Months Into the Job
- February 24, 2026
- I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter
Leadership uncertainty at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deepened this week after the agency’s second-in-command suddenly resigned.
On Monday, the CDC announced that Ralph Abraham, its deputy secretary general, stepped down effective immediately.
Abraham had been in the role for about two and a half months.
In a statement posted on the CDC’s website, Abraham said he was leaving due to “unforeseen family obligations.”
“It has been an honor to serve alongside the dedicated public health professionals at the CDC and to support the agency’s critical mission,” Abraham said.
Several CDC employees told STAT News they were not told directly about Abraham’s departure. Instead, many learned about it through the agency’s website or news reports.
The CDC is currently led by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who was named acting director last week.
Bhattacharya is also director of the National Institutes of Health, meaning he is holding two major federal health roles at once.
It isn't likely that Bhattacharya will move to the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta or spend much time there.
His predecessor, Jim O’Neill, also worked remotely while managing another federal job.
Unlike others in leadership roles, the departing Abraham was physically based in Atlanta and worked from the CDC campus.
Some staffers said much of the CDC’s 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.
Abraham, a former Louisiana surgeon general, started the job in early January after being sworn in late last year.
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.
That director, Susan Monarez, 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., according to past reports.
The CDC will continue to operate under uncertainty over who is really in charge, and how long current leadership arrangements will last.
More information
Learn more about the priorities of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCE: STAT News, Feb. 23, 2026
