WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a 51-44 vote, ending nearly a year without a permanent leader at the nation's primary public health agency.
Schwartz, 54, is the first confirmed CDC director since President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025 and the third nominee Trump put forward for the position. She becomes the 22nd individual to lead the Atlanta-based agency.
The near-party-line vote underscored the political friction surrounding executive appointments, even for public health posts. Schwartz now inherits an agency responsible for disease surveillance, public health research and emergency preparedness that has operated under interim leadership for much of the past year.
As director, Schwartz can set long-term strategic goals and move new initiatives through an agency whose mission spans disease control, environmental health and health promotion. Her confirmation gives the CDC a clear line of authority it has lacked since Trump's second term began.
