Dr. Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tells CBS News that federal health agencies are facing risks to their “scientific integrity” following a leadership change. In an interview on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Houry describes a period of “pure chaos” after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assumed the role of director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She attributes the instability to efforts to reshape how the agency operates. Houry previously left the CDC in protest after then-CDC director Susan Monarez was fired last year, according to the report. In her remarks, she warns that changes introduced after the transition at HHS could affect how scientific work is conducted within federal health agencies. The account focuses on internal governance and the impact leadership shifts have on scientific standards, rather than detailing specific policy actions or outcomes.