Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Wednesday in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images)In a much anticipated public appearance, Susan Monarez, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, defended her short tenure at the embattled public health agency. She testified that she was ousted last month because she refused to follow Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s demands to pre-approve vaccine recommendations for the public and fire career scientists. “Even under pressure, I could not replace evidence with ideology,” Monarez told members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Wednesday. The hearing comes on the eve of the next meeting of the vaccine advisory committee, which is scheduled for Thursday morning in Atlanta.