Overview
- Schwartz testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday, July 15, and pledged she would "never betray the science" while repeatedly declining to say whether she would publicly oppose instructions from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy and multiple senators pressed Schwartz on vaccines, the ouster of prior director Susan Monarez, and whether she would protect Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decisions from political interference.
- Sean Kaufman, nominated to lead preparedness at HHS, faced sharp questions about past comments that questioned some vaccines, creating additional concern about leadership of the national emergency response office.
- If confirmed, Schwartz would inherit a CDC that has lost more than 3,000 staff, seen resignations of senior scientists, and is responding to a measles surge, a major Ebola outbreak in Africa, and large cyclosporiasis case counts in the U.S.
- Schwartz said she will leave private-sector roles and cash out stock options to avoid conflicts of interest, but senators and observers said her cautious answers left her confirmation prospects uncertain and set up a Senate vote that could hinge on a few key lawmakers.