Senate Panel Questions Trump Nominee Erica Schwartz on Vaccines and CDC Leadership

Dr. Erica Schwartz appeared Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions as President Trump's nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schwartz told the committee she "will never betray the science" and pledged to use "radical transparency" to rebuild public trust.

She said she accepts evidence that vaccines do not cause autism and that the cause of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses, which affect one in 33 children, must be determined. Chairman Bill Cassidy told Schwartz that any equivocation on the efficacy of immunization would prevent him from supporting her nomination.

He said a CDC director must stand up to statements that undermine faith in immunization.

Schwartz said she does not believe the president or Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would direct implementation of policies that are unscientific or potentially harmful. She was nominated in April and would replace acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya if confirmed, The Washington Times reported.

The hearing occurred against a backdrop of prior leadership changes at the agency. President Trump withdrew the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon hours before his scheduled confirmation hearing last year.

Senate-confirmed Susan Monarez was ousted after a few weeks after resisting pressure to rescind certain COVID-19 vaccine approvals. National Institutes of Health Director Jim O’Neill was removed as acting CDC director in February. Kennedy’s chief of staff sent an email to Monarez demanding that all major decisions be reviewed by political leadership, The Washington Times reported.

Monarez said the secretary gave her an ultimatum to either preapprove guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, dismiss career officials without cause, or resign. She was fired after refusing. Cassidy said Monarez was let go because she would not make decisions she felt were instructed and would be bad for public health.