Trump Nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz To Lead the CDC, Signaling Shift In Vaccine Approach
Dr. Erica Schwartz's nomination to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appears to signal a shift in the Trump administration's approach to vaccines.
Black News 
President Donald Trump’s new nominee to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has actually lead vaccination programs, appears to signal a shift in the administration’s approach to vaccines.
On April 16, Trump nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC, ending a months-long search for a permanent director, CNBC reports. A public health veteran, Schwartz served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term, where she helped lead the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her expected appointment comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, oversees a series of controversial policy changes at CDC, including updates to childhood vaccine guidance. Her nomination also signals a possible shift within the administration, arriving just hours after Kennedy made some of his most supportive remarks on vaccines during a congressional hearing.
During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing, Kennedy said the measles vaccine is safe and effective for most people and can be safer than infection. He also agreed, when pressed by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), that vaccination could have saved at least one child during last year’s Texas outbreak.
Kennedy and his team recommended Schwartz alongside a slate of CDC leadership picks announced by Trump. Other appointments include Sara Brenner as a public health adviser; Jennifer Shuford as CDC deputy director and chief medical officer; and Sean Slovenski as deputy director and chief operating officer.
“We’re bringing in an extraordinary team. … The team has been leaked, and it’s gotten applause from both Republicans and Democrats,” Kennedy said before the House Appropriations subcommittee on health. “I think this new team is really going to be able to revolutionize CDC and get it back on track and get it doing the job that it does better than any other health agency in the world.”
Schwartz’s nomination comes as the White House faced a deadline to name a permanent CDC director after Kennedy removed the previous leader. Under the Federal Vacancies Act, the role can only remain unfilled for 210 days, a deadline that passed in late March.
If confirmed, Schwartz will take over an agency navigating major changes, staffing shifts, and proposed budget cuts while maintaining its core public health mission. Schwartz will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for confirmation.
The former rear admiral spent 24 years in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as a Coast Guard rear admiral. She holds degrees from Brown University and the University of Maryland, and led disease surveillance, vaccination programs, and pandemic policy efforts, while also supporting federal responses to natural disasters.
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