The Department of Health and Human Services has put forward Dr. Erica Schwartz to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to sources with knowledge of the recommendation. Schwartz served as deputy U.S. surgeon general during Trump's first administration. The selection still requires presidential approval and is not yet final.
A White House spokesperson said any personnel announcements not officially released by the administration should be treated as speculation. HHS did not respond to a request for comment on the recommendation.
The CDC has operated without a permanent director since August. The post has seen turnover recently. Trump's first choice, former Rep. Dave Weldon of Florida, withdrew from consideration in March after Republican senators indicated confirmation would fail. The administration then turned to Susan Monarez, a career scientist already serving as acting director. She lasted one month before being removed in August following disputes with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Jim O'Neill took over as acting director afterward and approved a major revision to the childhood vaccination schedule in January. That overhaul was blocked by a federal judge. He was succeeded in February by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, who now oversees both agencies simultaneously.
A Long Public Health Record
Schwartz brings more than two decades of military service spanning the U.S. Navy, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the Coast Guard. She departed from her deputy surgeon general role in 2021. Her educational background includes a bachelor's in biomedical engineering and a medical degree from Brown University, a master's in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a law degree from the University of Maryland.
If appointed, Schwartz would inherit a CDC wrestling with significant policy upheaval under Kennedy's leadership. Last month a Massachusetts federal judge blocked vaccine policy changes crafted through Kennedy's chosen advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, after a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups. The judge also halted the vaccination schedule revision. The CDC has not pursued an appeal.
In a recent move health policy analysts see as an attempt to circumvent the court's order, Kennedy authorized a new charter for the ACIP earlier this month. The agency continues to operate under significant legal constraints and institutional pressure as it absorbs directives from the new administration.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Schwartz's military discipline and legal background could help her navigate the minefield Kennedy has created at the CDC, but her confirmation is far from guaranteed."
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