Dr. Erica Schwartz, the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday. Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general and retired Rear Admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard, pledged to maintain scientific integrity and utilize "radical transparency" to restore public trust in the agency.
During the hearing, several senators questioned Schwartz on whether she would resist political pressure from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Senators specifically cited internal emails suggesting Kennedy had previously directed staff to suspend flu vaccine promotions and examined her stance on agency leadership turnover. Schwartz declined to comment on specific past directives, stating she did not want to speak in hypotheticals.
Schwartz stated that while existing medical evidence does not show a link between childhood vaccines and autism, she had not reviewed specific CDC website changes regarding the topic. Democratic senators expressed concern over her refusal to criticize certain administration policies, while Schwartz maintained her focus would be on infectious disease response and rebuilding the agency's workforce, which has declined by more than a quarter in the past year.
The CDC has seen a series of leadership changes since 2025. The administration's first pick, David Weldon, withdrew before his hearing, and the subsequent confirmed director, Susan Monarez, was dismissed after less than a month. If confirmed, Schwartz would take over from NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who has been overseeing the agency on an interim basis.