The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 51-44 vote makes her the first official leader of the agency in nearly a year and the first Black woman to hold the position.
The CDC has not had a Senate-confirmed director since late August 2025, following the departure of former director Susan Monarez. Since February, the agency was led by acting director Jay Bhattacharya, who also serves as the director of the National Institutes of Health. Monarez was removed from the post 29 days into her tenure after she alleged she was pressured to follow vaccine recommendations from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that she claimed were not science-based.
Schwartz is a retired Navy rear admiral and a former deputy surgeon general. She previously managed the health care system for the U.S. Coast Guard and holds degrees in biomedical engineering, medicine, and law. According to the Department of Homeland Security, her background includes work on the H1N1 and Ebola pandemic responses.
The scale of Schwartz's responsibilities involves overseeing health protections for more than 330 million Americans. In her new role, she will manage the federal response to an ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa and address internal and external disputes regarding national vaccine recommendations. Individuals may see the impact of her leadership in updated health advisories, changes to vaccination schedules, or the agency's coordination with local health departments during future disease outbreaks.
The confirmation also establishes a precedent for the relationship between the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services. Following Monarez's testimony that she was ousted for resisting specific vaccine policies, Schwartz's tenure will be monitored for how she navigates the administration's public health directives. She begins her term immediately following the Senate's Wednesday vote, assuming oversight of the agency's primary mission of tracking and preventing the spread of infectious diseases.