Overview
- President Trump named former deputy surgeon general Erica Schwartz to be CDC director on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
- The job needs Senate approval, and lawmakers are expected to press her on whether she will follow scientific guidance or align with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine policy.
- The White House also tapped three leaders to steady the agency’s front office: Jennifer Shuford as deputy director and chief medical officer, Sean Slovenski as deputy director and chief operating officer, and FDA’s Sara Brenner as senior public health counselor to the HHS secretary.
- NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya continues to oversee CDC operations during the confirmation period because the Federal Vacancies Act limits who can serve as an acting director and for how long.
- The nomination lands as courts scrutinize HHS changes to the vaccine advisory panel that guides the U.S. immunization schedule and insurance coverage, and as measles and other preventable diseases rise with lower vaccination rates.