August 30, 2025
Silicon valley investor takes control of cdc as kennedy's right-hand man
Aug. 29, 2025: Thiel-linked investor named acting CDC head
🏥Public Health🏛️Government💡Technology
Jim O'Neill, a longtime associate of Peter Thiel and a former executive at Thiel-affiliated firms, became acting CDC director on Aug.
28, 2025.
He took the post after Susan Monarez was fired on Aug.
27, 2025, by Kennedy amid reported disputes over vaccine policy.
O'Neill has advocated loosening some FDA and diagnostic rules and speeding approvals for certain drugs and tests.
He co-founded the Thiel Fellowship, which pays college dropouts to build startups.
Reporting links him to investment roles tied to Thiel-affiliated funds, but earlier claims about a specific $1.2 billion fund and a single fellowship dollar figure are unverified.
Susan Monarez was removed as CDC director on Aug. 27, 2025. Reporters said she resisted vaccine-policy changes ordered by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Her departure came within weeks of her Senate confirmation.
HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill was named acting CDC director on Aug. 28, 2025. Kennedy tapped his deputy to lead the agency after Monarez's removal. O'Neill will serve temporarily while officials search for a permanent director.
O'Neill has a private-sector background in venture investing and has worked with funds linked to 
Peter Thiel. Those ties have prompted conflict-of-interest concerns among public-health experts and watchdogs. Critics say those connections raise questions about potential policy shifts that could benefit biotech investors.
Several senior CDC officials resigned or announced departures after Monarez's firing, including Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry on Aug. 28, 2025. Houry warned staff about rising misinformation and urged protection of scientific integrity in internal messages. Officials say the departures have disrupted agency operations during a sensitive leadership transition.
🏥Public Health🏛️Government💡Technology
People, bills, and sources
Jim O'Neill
HHS Deputy Secretary; Acting CDC Director (interim)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Susan Monarez
Former CDC Director
Peter Thiel
Investor and Technology Entrepreneur
Dr. Debra Houry
Former CDC Chief Medical Officer
What You Can Do
1
civic action
Call your U.S. representative via the House switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask them to open oversight hearings into potential conflicts between Jim O'Neill's investments and CDC decisions.
Elected representatives can demand documents and hold public hearings. Ask your rep to press for public disclosures and ethics reviews of any ties that could affect CDC policy.
Hello, I’m a constituent asking you to request House oversight hearings and disclosure of Jim O'Neill's financial ties to ensure CDC decisions remain independent.
2
civic action
Call the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at 202-224-5375 to request formal disclosure and records about O'Neill's ties to biotech and any influence on CDC policy.
The HELP Committee oversees public health policy and can compel documents and testimony. Ask the committee to hold public sessions and release relevant records.
I’m asking the committee to demand disclosure of Jim O'Neill’s financial ties and to hold public hearings on any influence those ties had on CDC policies.
3
learning more
Support independent watchdogs and public-health groups that track conflicts of interest and agency capture, such as Project On Government Oversight or Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Donate, volunteer, or share verified reporting to strengthen oversight and public pressure for transparency. Local journalists and editors respond when constituents push for coverage.
I want to support your work monitoring CDC conflicts and would like information on how to donate or volunteer.