Erica Schwartz confirmed as CDC director after nearly yearlong vacancy
The Senate approved Erica Schwartz 51-44, ending a near-year without a permanent CDC leader as outbreaks and vaccine scrutiny await.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
Dr. Erica Schwartz is the new permanent leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the Senate confirmed the Erica Schwartz CDC director nomination in a 51-44 vote on Aug. 5. The vote gives the agency a Senate-confirmed director for the first time in nearly a year, according to NPR.
Schwartz takes over after a run of temporary leadership. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the previous permanent director, Susan Monarez, in August 2025, 29 days after she took the post, NBC News reported. Jay Bhattacharya had overseen the CDC since February while also serving as director of the National Institutes of Health.
There was no immediate word from the Department of Health and Human Services on when Schwartz would begin work, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Who is Erica Schwartz, the new CDC director?
Schwartz served as deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term. Her earlier roles included work as a Navy physician and chief medical officer for the Coast Guard, NBC News reported.
As director, she will oversee the country’s public-health response, including the approval of vaccine recommendations and efforts to contain disease outbreaks, according to NBC News. The CDC provides the public with health guidance, data and preventive measures, and its official priorities include evidence-based crisis response and vaccine safety research.
What will Erica Schwartz face as CDC director?
Her arrival fills the vacancy, but it does not clear the agency’s crowded in-tray. NPR reported that the CDC is dealing with increases in measles cases and cyclosporiasis, as well as Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
The CDC’s own website was carrying Ebola travel updates and an active cyclosporiasis outbreak notice. The agency said in July that its Cyclospora investigation involving iceberg lettuce had expanded to four more states; it had also identified shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations as a source of infections in five states.
Schwartz also inherits an agency that has lost thousands of employees amid layoffs, resignations and leadership changes in Trump’s second administration, NPR reported. The Los Angeles Times put the reported loss at more than 3,000 employees, largely through layoffs and resignations.
Why did senators press Schwartz on vaccines?
At her July confirmation hearing, senators questioned whether Schwartz would resist pressure from Kennedy on vaccine policy. Schwartz said vaccines are safe and effective and promised public-health guidance that would be clear, honest and based on evidence, NBC News reported.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate health committee, initially faulted Schwartz for not directly answering whether she would challenge Kennedy. After further discussions with her and people who knew her work, Cassidy said he was confident she would stand against people who do not follow science. He voted to advance her nomination and backed her on the Senate floor, NPR reported.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, voted against her in committee and on final confirmation. Sanders said he respected Schwartz’s credentials but did not believe she was prepared to confront Kennedy’s false claims on vaccines and other health issues, according to NPR.
The National Public Health Coalition, an advocacy group of former CDC employees, had opposed her nomination after the hearing, arguing that her commitments to shield agency guidance from political pressure were not clear enough. An HHS spokesperson previously called that criticism political theater, NBC News reported.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.