Erica Schwartz, M.D., the latest nominee to lead the beleaguered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told lawmakers on Wednesday that she was committed to scientific integrity and transparency to restore trust in the country's top public health agency.
"As CDC director, my sacred responsibility is to provide the American people with public health guidance that is clear, honest and evidence-based. I will never betray the science," Schwartz said during a confirmation hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Schwartz is President Donald Trump's third CDC nominee in less than two years. The CDC has been rocked by leadership shakeups and turmoil since the start of Trump's second term. In March 2025, Trump withdrew his first nominee, former Florida Republican congressman David Weldon, before his scheduled confirmation hearing when it became clear he lacked the votes, media outlets reported.
The White House then tapped Susan Monarez, Ph.D., who was serving as the CDC’s acting director for seven months, but she was fired less than a month later after clashing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Schwartz, a board-certified preventive medicine physician, served as deputy surgeon general at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during Trump's first term. She also has a law degree and a master's of public health. She is a retired rear admiral in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, and she previously served as chief medical officer of the U.S. Coast Guard.
During the hearing, Schwartz affirmed her support for vaccines and medical evidence.
Republicans and Democrats on the committee praised Schwartz's qualifications and credentials, but pressed her on whether she would protect the CDC from political interference and directly asked if she would challenge any political meddling in the agency’s scientific research and health recommendations.
As HHS Secretary, Kennedy has introduced several highly controversial shifts in U.S. vaccine policy, prompting major pushback from medical groups and legal challenges. Kennedy dismantled the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by firing all 17 independent experts on the panel and replacing them with 13 hand-picked members, Fierce Pharma reported. He also has drastically altered the recommended childhood vaccine schedule. Senators noted that under Kennedy's leadership the U.S. is currently experiencing the largest measles outbreak in 35 years.
During a Congressional hearing in September, Monarez testified that ahead of her firing, Kennedy told her there was “no science or evidence” in support of the current childhood vaccine schedule and that he planned to change it in September. Monarez said she was fired "for holding the line on scientific integrity."
Monarez asserted that RFK Jr. had removed her for refusing to preemptively approve upcoming recommendations made by a vaccine advisory panel he had reconstituted and to fire other career agency scientists in leadership positions without cause.
Senate HELP committee chair Bill Cassidy, a physician and a Republican, repeatedly asked Schwartz if she would push back if Kennedy pressured her to take actions unsupported by science.
"You can be CDC director and just take orders. We need a CDC director that will actually stand up to crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization. Are you the person? And I'm being very direct here because obviously I feel like we've got thousands of kids hospitalized because people have promoted that immunization is bad, and now kids have died because of it," Cassidy said during the hearing. "It is evil to do that, and people persist. You are the bulwark, so I'm asking: Will you have the ability and the firmness to stand up to that political meddling, to say no, that's wrong, and this is right."
Schwartz avoided answering directly the question about political interference and responded, "I will never betray the science, ever. I will go where the science leads us. I will not have predetermined answers to conclusions. I will make sure that the CDC is focused on scientific rigor, that the CDC is focused on radical transparency and that the CDC, which is the most important thing to regain public trust, is that we lead with humility."
Unsatisfied with her answer, Cassidy, a prominent vaccine proponent who has publicly criticized Kennedy's vaccine policy changes, pressed again: "If somebody... is doing wrong things at the CDC, pursuing an agenda harmful to America's public health, and we've seen evidence of that, it's not a theoretical. How will you handle that situation?"
Schwartz said if she were confirmed as CDC Director and something came up that was "concerning" she would address it with the committee.
Addressing the same issue, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), asked Schwartz, "Will you commit that you will report to Congress if you receive directives from Secretary Kennedy or any other individual in the Trump administration to implement policies that are unscientific and can harm the health and well-being of the American people?"
Schwartz responded, "I do not believe that the president or the secretary would ever do what you just mentioned."
Patty Murray (D-Washington) reiterated the same concern about political interference, asking, "If you are confirmed as CDC Director and Secretary Kennedy asks you to commit in advance to approving every recommendation that ACIP makes in the future, regardless of scientific evidence, will you do that?"
"The secretary would never ask me to do that," Schwartz responded, and then added, "I will follow the science wherever it leads, Senator. You have my commitment on that."
During the confirmation hearing, Schwartz she one of her goals as CDC Director was to modernize the agency into a "near real-time public health enterprise capable of detecting threats early and responding faster."
"Twenty-first century threats require 21st Century systems," she said, adding that another goal was to "empower states, tribes, local communities, and territorial partners as the operational backbone of American public health."
"Public health works best closest to the people. The CDC should provide tools, embedded expertise, operational support and funding flexibility, not rigid top-down control. The CDC is home to an extraordinarily talented and dedicated workforce. If confirmed, I would support them, empower them and ensure they have the tools and leadership necessary to succeed. At a time when trust in institutions has been challenged, we have an opportunity to restore confidence, strengthen scientific integrity, modernize our systems and refocus on the CDC's core mission: protecting the health and safety of the American people," she said.
Senators on the committee asked Schwartz how she planned to restore trust in the CDC and assure transparency with the public.
"If I am confirmed as a CDC director, I certainly want to make sure, as you heard in my priorities, that we are being radically transparent with the American people. And so, the first order of business for me is to really do a listening session with the CDC career scientists. I want to make sure I understand what are their pain points, what are we doing as the CDC to help restore trust with the American public," she said.
Schwartz said she was concerned about a breakdown in trust between the CDC's career scientists and political leaders. "I want to do everything that I can to make sure that we can help build morale within the CDC."
Asked about how to address vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccine views among the public, Schwartz responded, "I want to be the CDC Director for all Americans. I don't want to be the CDC Director just for Americans that believe in vaccines. I want to be the CDC Director for people that have concerns about vaccines. I approach this position with humility. I want to be a nation-centered CDC Director. I want to make sure I understand why parents have vaccine hesitancy," she said. "I don't want to ignore them. I don't want to dismiss them. I want to have an open conversation with them. I would love to have an open and transparent debate, and that's the kind of CDC Director that I'd like to be."