The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Erica Schwartz as the new director of the CDC. CIDRAP has the news.
The vote ended up being 51 to 44 in favor of Schwartz. Only one Democrat, Tim Kaine, voted in her favor. The CDC has not had a confirmed director since August 27, 2025, when Susan Monarez was ousted for refusing to fire CDC experts and pre-approve changes to vaccine policy made by HHS head Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. She held the post for less than a month.
Schwartz’s confirmation hearing was somewhat rocky, as several senators seemed dismayed by her responses to some questions, like her reluctance to say she would defy orders to limit access to vaccines. She was also unaware of some policy changes over the past year, like Kennedy’s changes to the CDC’s autism and vaccine web page.
Bill Cassidy, a key vote, said he was “confident that she knows what she’s doing and will stand against those who do not.” He had previously received assurances, later rescinded, from Kennedy that he would act according to established vaccine science.
Schwartz comes onboard amidst a growing cyclosporiasis outbreak, ongoing measles transmission, an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reduction of CDC staff by nearly a quarter over the past year, and a shooting at the agency’s headquarters last year.
