Briana KoenemanThe director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped down from her position amid reports she purchased stock in a tobacco company while leading the agency.
A spokesperson for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Azar accepted Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald's resignation Wednesday.
The spokesperson added, "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."
Fitzgerald's decision came the day after Politico reported she bought shares in a tobacco company just one month after taking over as director.
That seems to be at odds with the CDC's mission to curb smoking, which is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
As of early Wednesday, Fitzgerald herself had yet to comment.
