despite fumbling covid in a lot of ways, CDC is probably the most heroically portrayed government agency that isn't a military branch. every outbreak movie shows them bravely using science to crush pathogen. people *like* the CDC in a way they don't care about the EPA or DOE. trust them, even.
not that this administration minds destroying trust in an organization, of course, but it does make the headlines more important. because the CDC are still the good guys at this point, and they can't leverage that if they destroy it, so, hmm. it's an interesting problem, for them.
what?? The CDC had very few defenders throughout the last 5 years and that's partly responsible for this mess. People loved to shit talk it in casual conversations. Americans deserve what's coming to them.