Senate confirms Erica Schwartz as CDC director

The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as the 22nd director of the United States — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a 51-44 vote on August 5, 2026, ending nearly a year of interim leadership. Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general and Coast Guard chief medical officer, was nominated by President Donald Trump in April. Her confirmation follows a contentious hearing where senators questioned her independence from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed anti-vaccine policies. Schwartz pledged to 'never betray the science' and to use 'radical transparency' to rebuild public trust. She will lead an agency that has lost over 3,000 employees (more than a quarter of its workforce) due to layoffs and resignations, and faces ongoing outbreaks of measles, cyclosporiasis, and Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Schwartz's predecessor, Susan Monarez, was fired by Kennedy after less than a month in 2025. Schwartz has agreed to resign from corporate boards, including UnitedHealth Group, Butterfly Network, and Aveanna Healthcare, to avoid conflicts of interest. The confirmation was seen as a rare win for the Trump administration, though it fell largely along party lines, with only Democrat Tim Kaine crossing over.