Erica Schwartz, CDC nominee for director intends to restore public trust in health organization

Erica Schwartz, the administration’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expressed support for vaccines — including mRNA-based covid shots — in a Senate hearing on Wednesday, though she didn’t dispel concerns the agency has lost any independence from the White House.

“I have been vaccinating people throughout my entire career in uniformed services. I believe in vaccines,” Schwartz said at the hearing. “I do believe that mRNA technology is safe and effective.”

Her position contrasts with that of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ousted Trump’s previous CDC director, Susan Monarez, after she sparred with him over vaccines. Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has baselessly called mRNA vaccines the deadliest ever made.

Schwartz “has dedicated her career to protecting the health of the American people.” Emily Hilliard, an HHS spokesperson, said in an emailed statement. “The president nominated her because of that exemplary record, and Secretary Kennedy looks forward to working with her to advance the Administration’s public health priorities.” Schwartz, who was deputy surgeon general in Trump’s first administration and is a former chief medical officer for the Coast Guard, has support in the public health community, where it’s hoped she can restore credibility at the agency she would lead.

“I will follow the science wherever it leads,” Schwartz told senators. “My first priority will be restoring trust in public health institutions.”

Monarez “refused to act as a rubber stamp for Secretary Kennedy’s very dangerous agenda,” Sanders said July 15 at the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s confirmation hearing for Schwartz. “Frankly, she stood up for protecting the well-being of the American people.”

Schwartz told the committee she would “never compromise” on science.

“The president would never ask me to not follow the law,” she said. “But I will always follow the law.”

“Restoring trust to the CDC is my No. 1 priority,” Schwartz said. “Scientific integrity is core.”

The American Public Health Association’s CEO, Georges Benjamin, endorsed Schwartz in April, saying she “possesses the medical background and public health knowledge to understand that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be guided by evidence-based science.”

The APHA has fought many of Trump’s initiatives on public health. After Monarez’s resignation, the organization issued a news release titled “Kennedy’s attack on public health must be stopped.”

Schwartz told the committee that if she is confirmed, she is committed to “radical transparency” and modernization.

American Physical Health Association CEO Georges C. Benjamin, said in a statement: As a well-trained and credentialed physician and former Deputy Surgeon General, Erica Schwartz possesses the medical background and public health knowledge to understand that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be guided by evidence-based science. With her previous service at HHS during the first Trump administration and as Chief Medical Officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, she has demonstrated strong leadership skills. CDC is a much larger and more complex organization to lead. She will need to use sound managerial and negotiation skills to navigate the rebuilding of our nation’s public health system. If confirmed by the Senate as the next Director of the CDC, we look forward to working with Dr. Schwartz to ensure we use the best science and evidence to improve the nation’s health. The Senate health committee plans to vote by July 31  on whether to advance the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to the full senate to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.