Senate Confirms Erica Schwartz to Lead the CDC

Schwartz served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first administration.

Senate CDC Erica Schwartz AP-26196616309947

Erica Schwartz will be the CDC’s first permanent director in nearly a year. Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Erica Schwartz, who was the deputy U.S. surgeon general during the first Trump administration, will serve as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Senate confirmed her nomination Wednesday. When sworn in, Schwartz will be the CDC’s first permanent director in nearly a year, taking over an agency that’s been at the center of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempts to transform the nation’s vaccine policies.

The last permanent director, Susan Monarez, was ousted from the role last August after disagreeing with Kennedy on vaccine policies.