Dr. Susan Monarez Confirmed as New CDC Director

Dr. Susan Monarez has been confirmed to lead the CDC following a vote in the Senate. CNN has the news.

Monarez is a “microbiologist and infectious disease expert who has served across several federal health agencies over the years.” She acted as deputy director of the CDC for a few months earlier this year and was eventually President Trump’s nominee to lead the organization.

Monarez “distanced herself from some Trump administration directives such as mass layoffs at the CDC and proposals to eliminate programs” at her confirmation hearing, which appears to put her at odds with HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “on issues such as the benefits of vaccination and the fluoridation of public water supplies, although she was vague about the future of those programs under her leadership.” The Senate sought to ensure that Monarez would protect the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, after Kennedy abruptly dismissed all of its members last month.

The HHS press release announcing her confirmation outlines some of her past experience, such as holding leadership and advisory roles with “Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority at HHS, the Department of Homeland Security, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Security Council.”