Senate Confirms Schwartz as CDC Director

The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a 51-44 vote, handing the Trump administration a rare win after repeated failed attempts to fill top health posts, according to multiple reports.

The confirmation comes amid significant leadership turmoil at the CDC. The agency has been without a permanent director for nearly a year since Susan Monarez was fired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., per The Guardian. Schwartz is Trump’s third pick to lead the CDC, following the withdrawal of David Weldon's nomination and Monarez's brief tenure.

During her confirmation hearing last month, senators pressed Schwartz on whether she would stand firm against any attempts by Kennedy to erode the scientific consensus around vaccines. She replied that she “will never betray the science” but generally deflected questions about how she would manage the relationship with Kennedy, as reported by The Guardian. Senator Bill Cassidy, the committee’s Republican chair and a physician, later announced his support for her nomination after speaking with Schwartz and reviewing her credentials.

Schwartz inherits an agency confronting multiple public health challenges, including the worst U.S. measles resurgence in three decades, an international Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, and a significant foodborne illness outbreak linked to cyclospora, according to Reuters. The CDC has also lost about 3,000 employees amid layoffs, resignations, and leadership shakeups during Trump's second term.

Schwartz is a retired Navy rear admiral and former deputy surgeon general with extensive experience overseeing the U.S. Coast Guard's health care system. She holds medical and law degrees from Brown University and the University of Maryland, respectively, as noted by CBS News. Her confirmation marks a significant milestone as she becomes the first Black woman to run the CDC.

The vote was mostly along party lines, with Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) voting with Republicans to approve Schwartz. The National Public Health Coalition, an advocacy group containing many former CDC employees, stated they would not support Schwartz's nomination based on her July hearing performance, citing a lack of clear commitments about protecting CDC guidance from political pressure.

Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association expressed hope that Schwartz's leadership would bring stability and a commitment to science to the beleaguered agency, according to The Los Angeles Times. The confirmation comes as insurance companies will continue to be required to fully cover all childhood vaccines on the CDC schedule.