CDC boss gets record-setting salary cut by $165,300

NEW YORK — The new head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gotten a big salary reduction.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that Dr. Robert Redfield Jr.’s new salary will be $209,700, down from $375,000.

The previous figure was at least $150,000 more than any previous CDC director had received.

Last month, after The Associated Press reported that Redfield was making almost twice his predecessor, a U.S. senator opposed to his appointment wrote a letter to Azar asking why he was earning so much. HHS officials then said Redfield had asked for a pay reduction because the topic had become a distraction.

Redfield was a top HIV researcher who previously had no experience working in public health or managing a public health agency.