Trump CDC pick Erica Schwartz confirmed to lead nation’s top public health agency

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Erica Schwartz as the new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a position the agency has been without a full-time leader for nearly a year. Schwartz's appointment comes after a string of acting directors, most recently Jay Bhattacharya of the National Institutes of Health.

Erica Schwartz previously served as the deputy surgeon general under the first Trump administration and as a rear admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard, where she held the position of chief medical officer. Prior to her current role, she was the first director of the CDC under the Trump administration, but was fired by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in August 2025 within a month of taking office.

Schwartz vouched at a recent hearing to stand up to Kennedy on matters of public health when necessary.

Kennedy ousted Schwartz's predecessor, Susan Monarez, in August 2025 due to her refusal to comply with certain vaccine policies. Schwartz has pledged to prioritize the nation's health and well-being if confirmed as the CDC director, stating, "If I’m confirmed as a CDC director, the nation's health and well-being will take primacy, and I will never compromise on that."

The United States is currently grappling with a nationwide measles outbreak and an increase in cyclosporiasis cases, a parasitic infection linked to iceberg lettuce and resulting in at least two deaths. At the same time, public trust in the CDC is at an all-time low, with a recent poll revealing that only 50 percent of Americans trust the agency's health recommendations, down from 77 percent in the spring of 2025.