The US Senate has confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vote was 51-44, split mostly along party lines. Only one Democrat, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, voted in favor of her.
This is a big moment for the Trump administration, which has struggled to get its picks for top health jobs approved. Schwartz is actually the third person Trump has nominated to lead the CDC.
She takes over an agency that has been through a lot of change at the top in recent years. She also steps in at a time when Americans are worried about a cyclosporiasis outbreak, and when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on vaccines have raised concern among lawmakers and health experts.
The Question Everyone Wanted Answered
During her confirmation hearing last month, senators asked Schwartz directly: would she push back if Kennedy tried to weaken public trust in vaccines? Schwartz said she would “never betray the science,” though she mostly avoided giving details on how she’d handle her working relationship with him.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who chairs the health committee and is also a doctor, said the country needs a CDC director willing to stand up to false claims that damage confidence in vaccines. Schwartz responded that Kennedy “will absolutely allow me to be CDC director.” Cassidy later said he’d support her nomination, and after the vote, he said he looks forward to working with her to rebuild trust in the CDC.
So, Who Is She?.
So who is she, really? Schwartz is a Navy vet. Back during Trump’s first term, she served as deputy surgeon general — that’s a big deal in the health world. Before that, she worked with the U.S. Public Health Service, and she actually spent time with the Coast Guard too. She worked her way all the way up to become their chief medical officer. So yeah — this isn’t someone new to the job. She’s been in the trenches for a while.
Trump’s first pick for the job, former Florida congressman David Weldon, was pulled from consideration by the White House back in March 2025, right before his confirmation hearing.
His second pick, Susan Monarez, didn’t last long either — Kennedy fired her last year, less than a month into the job, after she clashed with him over vaccine policy.
That makes Schwartz the first person to hold the CDC director role on a permanent basis since Monarez’s brief, troubled tenure.
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