Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky submitted her resignation latter to President Joe Biden on Friday, saying the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency declarations was an appropriate time to step down.
“I have never been prouder of anything I have done in my professional career,” Walensky wrote in the letter, adding that she had “mixed feelings” about the decision.
The COVID-19 pandemic no longer meets criteria for an emergency, according to US and World Health Organization criteria.
In response to the announcement, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said in a statement that Walensky’s “creativity, skill and expertise, and pure grit, were essential to our effective response and a historic recovery that made life better for Americans across the country.”
Walensky’s last day at her post will be June 30.
