Washington DC - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently fired a top scientist at the National Institutes of Health after she filed a whistleblower complaint against President Donald Trump's administration.

According to The New York Times, Kennedy sent a letter on September 26 to Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, writing, "In my capacity as secretary, I have decided to terminate your appointment as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease."

Dr. Marrazzo's firing came after she submitted a complaint last month claiming she had been demoted after objecting to Trump administration policies, which she argued have endangered research subjects, defied court orders, and undermined vaccine research.

The same day she was let go, RFK Jr. sent similar letters to fire three other scientists – Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Dr. Diana Bianchi of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and Shannon Zenk of the National Institute of Nursing Research.

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While the letters did not give reasons for the terminations, an attorney for Dr. Marrazzo said in a statement that the move was retaliatory.

"The Trump administration terminated Dr. Marrazzo for her advocacy on behalf of critical health research and for her support of the overwhelming body of evidence that shows vaccines are safe and effective," the attorney argued.

Since Trump appointed him to lead the Health Department, Kennedy has used his power to lay off thousands of federal employees and close numerous agencies within the department.

Kennedy, who was a prominent anti-vaccine advocate prior to his appointment, has also been criticized for pushing rhetoric that doesn't align with the general science community, which many have deemed medical misinformation.

Trump and his allies have made aggressive efforts in his second term to weed out any federal employees who criticize or oppose their agenda.

In a statement, Dr. Marrazzo said her firing shows that leaders at HHS and NIH "do not share my commitment to scientific integrity and public health," and called on Congress to "protect scientific research from those who would serve political interests first."