The Senate voted 51-44 on August 5 to confirm Erica Schwartz, MD, as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency had been without a confirmed director for nearly a year.
Schwartz is the second Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director confirmed by the Senate since Congress established the confirmation requirement in the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The agency has been led by acting directors since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed Susan Monarez, MD, after 29 days as CDC director in August 2025. Before Schwartz's confirmation, Jay Bhattacharya, MD, oversaw the CDC while continuing to serve as director of the National Institutes of Health.
During her July confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, senators questioned how she would respond if public health decisions conflicted with positions taken by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., particularly on vaccines and other evidence-based recommendations. Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, MD, later supported her nomination after stating that additional conversations with Schwartz and colleagues who had worked with her gave him confidence that she "knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not."
Some Democratic lawmakers and public health leaders questioned whether Schwartz would defend evidence-based public health policy if it conflicted with positions taken by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Schwartz's credentials and record of public service were impressive but is doubtful that she is prepared to challenge statements about vaccines and other public health issues that conflict with scientific evidence. The National Public Health Coalition, representing former and current CDC employees, said following the confirmation vote that Schwartz "needs to prove that her leadership will serve science and not the whims of politicians."
The agency has lost more than 3,000 employees through layoffs and resignations, reducing its workforce by more than one-quarter.
At the time of her confirmation, the CDC was responding to surges in measles cases, cyclosporiasis outbreaks, and an Ebola outbreak. During her confirmation hearing, Schwartz said, "My sacred responsibility is to provide the American people with public health guidance that is clear, honest and evidence-based," adding that she would "never betray the science."
