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Senate HELP Committee Advances Trump’s CDC and HHS Preparedness Nominees

The committee’s action tests whether HHS will let scientific judgment guide vaccine and public-health decisions.

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)
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)
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
Erica Schwartz attends her nomination 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.

Overview

  • The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted to send Dr. Erica Schwartz’s CDC nomination and Sean Kaufman’s HHS preparedness nomination to the full Senate after narrow roll-call votes on Thursday.
  • Committee chair Bill Cassidy said he won assurances from HHS that the agency edited a CDC webpage on vaccines and autism and would make personnel and oversight changes to limit political interference.
  • Senators pressed Schwartz over whether she would resist political orders on vaccine policy and repeatedly flagged the agency’s recent leadership instability, while Kaufman faced sharp criticism for past anti‑vaccine statements.
  • The nominations come as the CDC has lost more than 3,000 staff, has seen frequent leadership turnover, and has been run by acting officials including NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya since last year.
  • A full Senate vote is unlikely before the August recess, leaving confirmation prospects to the fall and creating a watchpoint on whether HHS follows through on commitments about website language, personnel limits, and vaccine policy control.