Senate

The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, giving the nation’s top public health agency its first permanent leader in nearly a year and closing out a turbulent stretch that saw two previous picks fail to make it through the confirmation process or survive on the job. A Steady Hand After a Rocky Stretch Schwartz was confirmed on a largely party-line 51-44 vote, with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the lone Democrat crossing over to support her. She becomes the 22nd director in the CDC’s history and the first Senate-confirmed leader of the agency in roughly a year, taking over from Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who had been serving as acting director since February while also leading the National Institutes of Health. Her path to the job was notably smoother than her two predecessors. The administration’s first pick, former Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., withdrew his own nomination after it became clear he lacked the votes, largely over concerns about his vaccine skepticism. His successor, Susan Monarez, was confirmed but fired less than a month later after what she described as a clash with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his push to roll back childhood vaccine recommendations. A Resume Built on Public Health Experience Schwartz brings a substantial public health and military background to the role. A Brown University-trained physician, she served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term and previously served as chief medical officer for the U.S. Coast Guard, in addition to time in the Navy and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. At 54, she also becomes the first Black woman to lead the CDC. President Trump nominated her in April, calling her “incredibly talented.” Notably, Schwartz represents something of a departure from earlier contenders the administration considered, who more closely toed the “Make America Healthy Again” line associated with Kennedy’s tenure at HHS. Her lengthy record overseeing vaccination programs and public health crisis response stands in contrast to the more skeptical posture that sank Weldon’s nomination. Questions About Independence Schwartz’s confirmation hearing last month put her in a difficult spot: reassuring senators that she’d bring scientific rigor to the job without appearing to publicly break with Kennedy, her eventual boss. She told the Senate HELP Committee she accepts there is “overwhelming evidence” that vaccines don’t cause autism, but stopped short of committing to remove a CDC webpage — updated last November — that critics say downplays that evidence. When Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the committee’s chairman, pressed her on whether she’d challenge Kennedy directly, she described handling disagreements the way she had in the military — through private conversations with superiors rather than public confrontation. That answer didn’t satisfy everyone. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the committee’s ranking member, voted against her both in committee and on the floor, saying he was impressed by her credentials but didn’t believe she was prepared to stand up to what he characterized as false statements on vaccines coming from Kennedy’s HHS. “I think the American people are owed better than what President Trump has nominated,” Sanders said. Others in the public health community took a more measured view of her approach. Dr. Georges Benjamin, CEO of the American Public Health Association, suggested her measured public posture during confirmation was a pragmatic choice rather than a red flag. “Public health people in these positions often have to manage through influence,” Benjamin said. “You don’t get influence by disagreeing with your boss publicly before you even get the job.” The Challenges Waiting for Her Schwartz inherits an agency that has been significantly reshaped over the past year and a half. The CDC has lost more than a quarter of its workforce through layoffs and resignations amid broader restructuring at HHS, and morale has reportedly suffered as a result. She also takes over amid two active public health challenges: the nation’s worst measles outbreak since before elimination was declared in 2000, and a growing cyclosporiasis outbreak that has already been linked to at least two deaths in Michigan. Benjamin, among others, argues the agency’s credibility has taken a real hit during the period of acting leadership and restructuring. “The CDC’s influence has diminished dramatically since they’ve taken over,” he said. “You have to second-guess and verify what is said. We never had to do that before.” Supporters of the administration’s broader health agenda counter that a leaner, more accountable CDC — one less resistant to oversight from elected officials — is a feature of the reform effort, not a flaw, and that Schwartz’s credentials make her well-positioned to restore both competence and public trust to the role regardless of the political noise surrounding her confirmation. What’s Next Schwartz is expected to be sworn in within the next several days. Her first major tests will likely come quickly, given the ongoing measles situation and the upcoming August meeting of the newly reconstituted U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — both flashpoints that will offer an early read on how independently she’s able to operate within Kennedy’s HHS. This story is developing.