WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that he intends to nominate Dr. Erica Schwartz to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Schwartz, who served as Mr. Trump’s deputy surgeon general during his first term, is a Coast Guard rear admiral. The president praised her on Truth Social, writing, “She is a STAR!” and calling her “incredibly talented.”
Schwartz currently serves as the Coast Guard’s director of health, safety and work-life, overseeing the branch’s system of 41 clinics and 150 sick bays, among other responsibilities. She also instituted anthrax and smallpox vaccination policies, oversaw disaster responses, and responded to the Ebola crisis. At the same time, her legal background is now part of the pitch: she received her medical degree from Brown University and also holds a law degree from the University of Maryland.
Her appointment comes as the CDC is being led in an acting capacity by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health. Last year, then-CDC director Susan Monarez was ousted less than a month after the Senate confirmed her, leaving the agency to navigate a leadership shuffle that has kept staff and partners watching closely for what’s next.
Alongside the CDC director nomination, Trump said he is naming Sean Slovenski to be CDC deputy director and chief operating officer, and Dr. Jennifer Shuford to be CDC deputy director and chief medical officer. He also said Dr. Sara Brenner will serve as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s senior counselor for public health.
Trump framed the slate as a return to scientific rigor, writing on Truth Social that these “Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC.” He also criticized the CDC under former President Joe Biden. A few blocks into the late-day hush outside the Capitol, you could almost hear the routine sounds of commutes restarting—nothing dramatic, just traffic and footsteps—while the nomination itself has the potential to reshape how the agency steers public health priorities in the months ahead.
The nominations also land in a moment when CDC leadership changes are especially consequential. Whether lawmakers move quickly or drag out confirmation timelines, the agency’s next direction—vaccination policy, outbreak response, and day-to-day oversight—will likely be a central thread of debate.
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