Trump ousts Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, an Affordable Care Act advocate
His deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent Adams, will replace him on an interim basis.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was asked to resign on April 21.
Over the weekend, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was asked by the Trump administration to resign from his post, and then was replaced by his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent Adams, a nurse.
Murthy's dismissal came roughly halfway through his four-year term, according to published reports. He was removed from his position on Friday night, the day before the March for Science, a demonstration on the National Mall in which scientists decried what they perceive as anti-science policies from the Trump administration.
The Washington Post said his temporary replacement, Trent-Adams, has been with the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps for 24 years, and is a former chief nurse officer of the Public Health Service.
Slate described Murthy, 39, as a "staunch advocate" of the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, and a strong proponent of gun control measures. He was also vocal in his support for vaccinations.
In November, Murthy facilitated the publication of a report on drug and alcohol addiction which ranked that condition alongside smoking, AIDS and other public health crises of the past 50 years. The report called the addiction epidemic "a moral test for America."
"The world is locked in a struggle between love and fear," Murthy wrote in a Facebook post following his dismissal. "Choose love. Always. It is the world's oldest medicine. It is what we need to build a nation that is safe and strong for us and our children."
Twitter: @JELagasse
