Senate Confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC Director
In a 51–44 vote, the Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz, M.D., J.D., M.P.H. as the new Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on August 5, making her the agency's first permanent leader in nearly a year.
Dr. Schwartz previously served as Deputy Surgeon General during the first Trump administration and as Chief Medical Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Dr. Schwartz assumes the role as CDC responds to a large, multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis under investigation by CDC, FDA, and state public health agencies, as well as an increase in measles cases across the U.S. CDC was also a casualty of the Trump administration's reduction-in-force initiatives across federal agencies in 2025, which reduced the CDC workforce by nearly one-quarter.
Confirmation Followed a Turbulent Senate Hearing
Dr. Schwartz's confirmation followed a contentious Senate Health Committee hearing, during which several lawmakers expressed concern over her responses. Democratic members, in particular, questioned her unwillingness to say she would oppose directives that could restrict access to vaccines or undermine public confidence in them.
During the hearing, Dr. Schwartz said she did not believe administration officials would ask her to make decisions that could harm Americans and pledged to "never betray the science" while carrying out HHS policy.
She also acknowledged that she was unaware of several policy changes implemented over the past year, including revisions to the CDC's autism and vaccine webpage that were directed by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Previous Turmoil in CDC Leadership
Dr. Schwartz steps into the post following a prolonged leadership vacuum after friction between previous leadership and Secretary Kennedy. The White House dismissed former CDC Director Susan Monarez, M.D. on August 27, 2025, less than a month after her Senate confirmation in July of that year. Dr. Monarez reportedly clashed with Secretary Kennedy on vaccine policies, his stance on the role of vaccines in causing autism, and his request to Dr. Monarez to fire three veteran CDC program directors.
Following Dr. Monarez's dismissal, Deputy Secretary of HHS Jim O'Neill was appointed CDC's Acting Director in late August 2025. Then, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D. was made CDC Acting Director in February 2026. Dr. Bhattacharya served in the Acting Director capacity until Dr. Schwartz's confirmation, ending a nearly year-long period without a Senate-confirmed CDC director.
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