January 31, 2018 ... On Wednesday morning, news became widely reported of a shakeup at the top of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Department of Health & Human Services announced Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, had tendered her resignation amid ongoing concerns over financial conflicts of interest.

With ownership in tobacco stocks, food and beverage companies, pharmaceuticals and an insurer, Congressional scrutiny has increased. The irony of heading up an agency tasked with leading smoking cessation efforts while owning stocks in tobacco has not been lost on the media or ethics experts. The resignation comes a day after Politico ran an article outlining a tobacco stock purchase by Fitzgerald within weeks of accepting the leadership role at the CDC.

Below is a statement from HHS Spokesperson Matt Lloyd:

"This morning Secretary Azar accepted Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald's resignation as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Fitzgerald owns certain complex financial interests that have imposed a broad recusal limiting her ability to complete all of her duties as the CDC Director. Due to the nature of these financial interests, Dr. Fitzgerald could not divest from them in a definitive time period. After advising Secretary Azar of both the status of the financial interests and the scope of her recusal, Dr. Fitzgerald tendered, and the Secretary accepted, her resignation. The Secretary thanks Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald for her service and wishes her the best in all her endeavors."

-- HHS Spokesman Matt Lloyd