{"id":6800,"date":"2026-08-05T21:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6800"},"modified":"2026-08-05T21:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:00:09","slug":"senate-confirms-trump-pick-erica-schwartz-as-new-cdc-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6800","title":{"rendered":"Senate confirms Trump pick Erica Schwartz as new CDC director"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"5e8a5459-ad53-40fe-8120-f9b6f1b6eb40\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a woman in front of a microphone\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/0ffcc82c2b2e025cad363262aca98fa6093d9820\/0_0_4000_2667\/master\/4000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.03875\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Erica Schwartz, the new CDC director, in July.<\/span> Photograph: Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"5e8a5459-ad53-40fe-8120-f9b6f1b6eb40\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Erica Schwartz, the new CDC director, in July.<\/span> Photograph: Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Senate confirms Trump pick Erica Schwartz as new CDC director<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Schwartz, president\u2019s third pick to lead top US public health agency, confirmed in 51-44 Senate vote<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Dr Erica Schwartz was confirmed by the US Senate as director \u200cof the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a rare win for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Trump administration<\/a> after a string of failed attempts to fill senior health posts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Schwartz was confirmed by a \u206051-44 vote that broke largely along party lines, with Tim Kaine of Virginia the sole Democrat to support her nomination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Donald Trump\u2019s third pick to run \u200bthe CDC, Schwartz is set to take the reins of the agency after a tumultuous period of leadership turnover, and amid public concern over an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/cyclosporiasis-outbreak-15-states-cdc\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">outbreak<\/a> of cyclosporiasis and Robert F Kennedy Jr\u2019s hesitancy towards vaccines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">At her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/15\/erica-schwartz-cdc-senate-hearing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">confirmation hearing<\/a> last month, senators pressed Schwartz on whether she would stand firm against any attempts by the health secretary to erode the scientific consensus around vaccines. She replied that she \u201cwill never betray the science\u201d but generally deflected questions about how she would manage the relationship with Kennedy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"1dafa552-2aa4-41f8-b50a-ebca57a8b3a3\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-4 | 4\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/15\/erica-schwartz-cdc-senate-hearing\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">CDC nominee Erica Schwartz pressed on whether she will resist RFK Jr\u2019s vaccine agenda<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe need a CDC director that will \u2060actually stand up to crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization,\u201d said Bill Cassidy, the committee\u2019s Republican chair and a physician.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Schwartz replied that Kennedy \u201cwill absolutely allow me to be CDC director\u201d, and Cassidy later announced his support for her nomination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThere are challenges facing Americans\u2019 health today. I will work with her to face those challenges and regain trust in the CDC,\u201d Cassidy said after the Senate confirmed her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A navy veteran, Schwartz served as deputy surgeon general during Trump\u2019s first term, after positions in the United States Public Health Service where she was detailed to the Coast Guard, eventually becoming the force\u2019s chief medical officer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Trump\u2019s first nominee to lead the CDC, David Weldon, a former Florida congressman, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/mar\/13\/dave-weldon-cdc-nomination-withdrawn\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">was withdrawn by the White House<\/a> in March 2025 just before his confirmation hearing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Schwartz will be the first permanent CDC \u200bdirector since Susan Monarez, Trump\u2019s second pick, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/27\/cdc-director-susan-monarez-ousted\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">fired by Kennedy last year<\/a> after less than a month over a clash on vaccine policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-senate\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Senate%20confirms%20Trump%20pick%20Erica%20Schwartz%20as%20new%20CDC%20director&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/erica-schwartz-cdc-director-senate-confirmation?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F05%2Ferica-schwartz-cdc-director-senate-confirmation&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/erica-schwartz-cdc-director-senate-confirmation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Erica Schwartz, the new CDC director, in July. Photograph: Bloomberg\/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Erica Schwartz, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6800"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6803,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6800\/revisions\/6803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}