President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, naming a slate of senior health officials and drawing praise from allies who frame this as a reset of the agency after the last administration. The pick spotlights a physician with military service, public health training, and prior federal experience, and it launches a confirmation fight that Republicans say will restore trust and science at the CDC.
Trump made the announcement publicly and stressed Schwartz’s credentials and prior work in his administration. “I am pleased to announce the new leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is my Honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, as my Director of the CDC,” the president declared in a Thursday Truth Social post. He also highlighted her education and military service as proof of her qualifications.
Her resume includes medical training at Brown and service as a physician in the U.S. military, followed by a stint as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term. That blend of clinical, public health, and uniformed service experience is what supporters point to as the right background for leading the CDC again. Her private sector roles have included board-level work, bringing a management angle to the nomination.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly welcomed the pick and framed it as the start of rebuilding credibility at the agency. “Thank you, President Trump, for nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to serve as CDC Director. I congratulate Dr. Schwartz and the new CDC leadership team. I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity at the @CDCgov so we can return it to its core mission and Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy declared in a on X.
Republican senators have quickly signaled support and set up a path to confirmation hearings. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said in a on X, “Dr. Erica Schwartz will be a great CDC Director. Under Joe Biden, the CDC was a disaster. I have no doubt that Dr. Schwartz will ensure the CDC is 100% focused on making Americans HEALTHY again. I look forward to voting to confirm her soon.”
Trump did not stop at the director slot and announced several senior appointments to work with Schwartz and HHS leadership. Trump also added in his Truth Social post, “I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Slovenski as the CDC Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, as the CDC Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Sara Brenner, MD, MPH, as Senior Counselor for Public Health to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.” Supporters cast the slate as experienced clinicians and managers ready to fix agency operations.
The nomination makes clear the administration will push a staffing and leadership overhaul at the CDC, and that will require Senate approval before any changes take effect. Republicans framing the move argue the agency lost public trust and that new leadership can bring accountability and common-sense public health approaches. Democrats and some public health experts will almost certainly press on past decisions and policy differences during confirmation testimony.
In his remarks, Trump stressed a return to rigorous science and criticized the prior focus on mandates during the Biden years. “These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC, which was an absolute disaster focused on “mandates” under Sleepy Joe. Together, they will do a TREMENDOUS job leading the CDC as we continue to MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AND GREAT AGAIN!” he declared. The administration is signaling that personnel change is the first step toward broader policy shifts inside public health agencies.
https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/2044867883012850027
