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Senate Confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC Director

Her confirmation ends a yearlong vacancy that will test whether the agency can restore scientific independence and operational capacity under new leadership.

Erica Schwartz testifies during a Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee confirmation hearing to be the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
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Erica Schwartz, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 15, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: Erica Schwartz attends her confirmation hearing to become director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Schwartz, President Trump's pick to lead the CDC, would fill the position left vacant since August 2025 when Trump ousted former CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

Overview

  • Dr. Erica Schwartz was confirmed by the Senate in a 51-44 vote on Wednesday, Aug. 5, becoming the CDC’s first permanent director in roughly a year.
  • The vote broke almost entirely along party lines with Sen. Tim Kaine as the lone Democratic yes and several senators absent during the roll call.
  • Schwartz is a physician with a law degree and an MPH who served as deputy surgeon general and spent 24 years in Navy and Coast Guard medicine, rising to rear admiral in the Public Health Service.
  • She inherits urgent tasks including the worst U.S. measles resurgence in decades, a large cyclosporiasis foodborne outbreak and international Ebola outbreaks, while the agency has lost more than 3,000 staff and faces low morale.
  • Lawmakers and public health groups pressed whether Schwartz can resist political pressure from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noting that HHS made personnel moves and edited CDC vaccine webpages during the confirmation process and that future clashes over vaccine recommendations and agency independence will be key to watch.