President Donald Trump announced on Apr. 16 that he has nominated Erica Schwartz to serve as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), following a period of frequent leadership changes at the agency.
Schwartz, who previously served as deputy surgeon general in Trump’s first administration, is set to become the fourth person to lead the CDC in a year. The nomination comes after Susan Monarez was removed from her post less than a month into her tenure, following disagreements with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over COVID-19 vaccine policy. "She is a STAR," Trump said when listing Schwartz’s credentials.
Schwartz brings experience from her 24 years in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and as a rear admiral in the Coast Guard. She holds medical and law degrees from Brown University and the University of Maryland, respectively.
After Monarez's departure, Jim O’Neill served briefly as acting director before Jay Bhattacharya took over on an interim basis earlier this year. In addition to naming Schwartz, Trump appointed several others to top roles at CDC: Sara Brenner will serve as public health adviser to Secretary Kennedy; Jennifer Shuford will become deputy director and chief medical officer; Sean Slovenski will be deputy director and chief operating officer.
Both Monarez and former chief medical officer Debra Houry testified before Congress last September about challenges within CDC leadership. During testimony, Houry said: “Trust and transparency have been broken. The problem is not too much science but too little.”
Trump stated that "These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC..." Meanwhile, Kennedy referenced bipartisan support for these appointments during a congressional hearing: “We’re bringing in an extraordinary team… I think this new team is really going to be able to revolutionize CDC.”
The appointments come amid ongoing debate about public health policies related to COVID-19 vaccines.
