US Senate confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC director in 51-44 vote, ending yearlong vacancy

Confirmation vote

The US Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday in a 51-44 vote that fell largely along party lines, ending a near yearlong vacancy at the top of the nation's premier public health agency. Schwartz is President Donald Trump's third nominee for the position in 18 months, following the withdrawal of former Florida congressman David Weldon in March 2025 and the firing of Susan Monarez by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last August after less than a month over a clash on vaccine policy. The confirmation hands the Trump administration a rare win after repeated failed attempts to fill senior health posts.

Schwartz's background

The 54-year-old is a board-certified preventive medicine physician who holds a medical degree from Brown University, a master's degree in public health, and a law degree from the University of Maryland. She served as deputy surgeon general during Trump's first term and was chief medical officer for the US Coast Guard from 2015 to 2019, following a long stint as a Navy officer. She has been a public advocate for vaccines and outbreak preparedness, which surprised outside health experts given the anti-vaccine stance of Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy's close ally Aaron Siri blasted her nomination over her support for vaccines, while health experts expressed cautious optimism.

Confirmation hearing tensions

During her July confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Schwartz repeatedly failed to directly answer whether she would push back against Kennedy's anti-vaccine and anti-science agendas. When senators asked what she would do if put in the same position as Monarez, Schwartz responded that she did not believe the president or the secretary would ever do what was mentioned, prompting Senator Bernie Sanders to reply: "Really?" Republican Senator Bill Cassidy initially questioned whether she would remain firm under pressure but later supported her after further conversations.

“After speaking with Dr. Schwartz again after the hearing, reviewing the transcript and speaking to those who served with her and know her well, I'm confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not.”

Sanders, an independent from Vermont and ranking member on the health committee, voted against both her advancement and confirmation.

“I think the American people are owed better than what President Trump has nominated.”

Agency in crisis

Schwartz inherits a CDC that has lost about 3,000 workers through layoffs and resignations amid low morale and leadership shakeups since Trump returned to office. The agency is simultaneously confronting the worst US measles resurgence in three decades, driven by falling childhood immunization rates, a cyclospora outbreak described as the largest US foodborne illness outbreak in recent years, and an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association said the CDC desperately needs stability and experienced leadership.

“With all the turmoil of the past two years, the CDC desperately needs stability, experienced leadership and a steadfast commitment to science.”

The National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers, opposed her confirmation, stating that the public and Congress deserve a director who will follow the law, defend science, and protect public health. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a former CDC official who resigned last August, told NPR that Schwartz has her work cut out for her and that her focus must be on the public health mission.