Trump’s third attempt to fill the CDC director job just landed on a rear admiral who was passed over by Biden, and RFK Jr. is already welcoming her

President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announcing the pick on Truth Social. The story gained traction when reported by both BBC and NBC News, marking Trump’s third attempt to install a permanent director at the agency during his second term. Schwartz previously served as Trump’s deputy surgeon general in his first administration.

Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social, writing that it was his honor to nominate “the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH” as CDC director, adding, “She is a star!” Schwartz left federal service after Trump’s first term when the Biden administration did not select her as acting US surgeon general.

The CDC has operated without a Senate-confirmed director for the bulk of Trump’s second term, having had a permanent director for just one month last summer. The nomination comes after a string of leadership disruptions that have drawn sustained scrutiny to the agency.

The CDC has cycled through several leaders in a remarkably short stretch

Trump’s first pick, former Florida congressman Dave Weldon, had his nomination pulled in March 2025 after it became clear he lacked the votes for Senate confirmation. Weldon had been an open critic of vaccines. His successor, career scientist Susan Monarez, served as CDC director for just under a month before being ousted in September following a public clash with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine policies.

Monarez subsequently wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating she was fired for refusing to endorse vaccine recommendations from a new advisory panel Kennedy had assembled, which included several vaccine skeptics. Her firing prompted resignations from CDC staff in protest. Amid ongoing friction within Republican ranks over health and policy directions, including Ted Cruz’s very public clash with Tucker Carlson over vaccine-adjacent political commentary, the CDC turmoil has added another front to an already turbulent policy environment.

Following Monarez’s departure, Jim O’Neill served as acting director for several months, signing off on a major overhaul of the childhood vaccination schedule in January before a federal judge blocked the move. He was replaced in February by Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, who has been overseeing the CDC in an unusual dual role since.

In March, a Massachusetts federal judge, in a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations, halted vaccine policy changes made under Kennedy’s handpicked advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). That ruling also blocked the vaccination schedule overhaul, and the agency has not yet appealed. Kennedy then signed off on a new ACIP charter this month. The NYC mayor’s recent push on new policy directives has drawn its own legal scrutiny, reflecting a broader pattern of executive policy moves running into judicial resistance.

Schwartz brings 24 years of service in the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service, along with a medical degree from Brown University, a law degree from the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She also served more than 20 years across the US Navy, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the US Coast Guard.

Kennedy welcomed the nomination on X, writing that he looked forward to working with Schwartz to “restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity.” Trump also announced additional health appointments alongside Schwartz’s nomination: Sean Slovenski as the CDC’s chief operating officer, Dr. Jennifer Shuford as chief medical director, and Dr. Sara Brenner as senior counselor for public health under Kennedy.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases who resigned in August in protest of Monarez’s firing, offered a measured response to the new team. “This is a team with great potential,” he said, “if political interference and the self interest of the secretary of health doesn’t hamper their ability to deliver for the health of the country.”