In a July 23 session of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., said he will vote in favor of the Trump administration’s third CDC director nominee, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will oppose the nomination.
Erica Schwartz, MD, is President Donald Trump’s third nominee for CDC director over the past two years. The White House pulled its first nominee, David Weldon, MD, in March 2025 following low support for the Congressman. The Senate confirmed the administration’s second nominee, Susan Monarez, PhD, in late July 2025, but the White House fired Dr. Monarez within one month after disagreements with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines.
Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the NIH, has been leading the CDC in an interim capacity since February. In April, President Trump nominated Dr. Schwartz, a retired Coast Guard rear admiral who led a healthcare system with 41 clinics and oversaw disease surveillance, vaccination and emergency response programs during her military career.
Following a July 15 confirmation hearing, Dr. Cassidy, chair of the Senate HELP committee, indicated July 23 he will vote for Dr. Schwartz, which will propel her to a full-Senate vote.
In his opening statement, Dr. Cassidy said, “The nation faces enormous public health challenges. Measles cases are at a 35-year high, with half a year left for them to rise even more. This [is] due to deliberate attempts to undermine faith in traditional public health measures by those who know nothing but push their ignorance as fact.
“CDC needs someone who understands that the way to prevent vaccine-preventable disease is to reassure the public that vaccines are safe and effective. After speaking with Dr. Schwartz again after the hearing, reviewing the transcript, and speaking to those who have served with her and know her well, I’m confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not.”
Dr. Cassidy added the CDC has revised a webpage that suggested a link between childhood vaccines and autism, which a large body of scientific evidence disputes.
Mr. Sanders said he will vote against Dr. Schwartz, saying he shares Dr. Cassidy’s concerns about anti-vaccine misinformation and is not confident she will “stand up” against Mr. Kennedy and other HHS officials.
“Will we have people in the Trump administration who have the guts to stand up to people who are anti-science and into conspiracy theories? And I am afraid that, right now within HHS, we have a Secretary who will not tolerate this…. We need people in this country who are going to stand up, protect the American people, and I don’t think you’re going to see that right now with Secretary Kennedy in his position.”
Dr. Schwartz’s nomination will be considered in a committee vote the last week of July, according to STAT News.
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