Former deputy surgeon general Erica Schwartz nominated as new CDC chief
April 16, 2026
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Former Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz Named New CDC Chief
The White House has nominated Erica Schwartz to replace NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya as head of the CDC. Bhattacharya has led the CDC on an interim basis since February, after the public health agency’s director was fired in 2025.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The White House has named Erica Schwartz, a former Navy doctor, to head the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She was deputy surgeon general, a civil servant position that is not politically appointed, in the first Trump administration. And she was previously a rear admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard, where she served as surgeon general.
“It is my honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz,” Trump wrote when announcing the nomination on his Truth Social platform. “She’s a STAR!” In the announcement, he also discussed the appointment of two new senior officials at the CDC and another at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Questions about the CDC’s decision-making on vaccines will likely feature prominently during Senate hearings on Schwartz’s nomination. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. fired former CDC chief Susan Monarez a month into her tenure last August. Monarez claimed she was fired for opposing Kennedy’s plan to overhaul the country’s vaccine policy. Since then, various HHS officials have led the agency in an acting capacity, most recently National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya.
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If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz will take the reins of the CDC after a year of tumult that saw the resignation of several members of its leadership, the loss of expert staff and an incident last August in which a gunman fired nearly 500 bullets into his headquarters, killing a police officer. Last March, bullet holes remained in the windows of the CDC.
It’s unclear how Schwartz might guide the agency’s public health approach. At the Coast Guard, she led numerous health initiatives, including anthrax and smallpox vaccination campaigns, and helped develop policies to respond to HIV and biological weapons. She was part of the leadership of the department’s Ebola outbreak team and was its leading expert on pandemic influenza. In addition to a medical degree, she has a master’s degree in public health and a law degree from the University of Maryland.
Schwartz “has the medical training and public health knowledge to understand that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be guided by evidence-based science,” Georges C. Benjamin, chief executive of the American Public Health Association, the largest U.S. organization of public health officials, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Dr. Schwartz to ensure we use the best science and evidence to improve the nation’s health.”
In recent months, the Trump administration moved to tone down RFK Jr.’s opposition to vaccines, which turned off voters, and impose him on a “low-risk messaging regime ahead of the midterm elections,” according to Bloomberg. Schwartz has been a proponent of the vaccine in the past, and nominating her as a candidate to lead the CDC could reflect that caution. Schwartz’s elevation also comes as the nomination of wellness influencer Casey Means for U.S. surgeon general has stalled, after Means sidestepped his support for vaccines during his Senate confirmation hearing. The White House has reportedly equivocated its support for Means in recent weeks.
At a House Appropriations Committee hearing Thursday, RFK, Jr., expressed support for Means, calling her “not a political person” and asked the Senate to vote for her confirmation. He also expressed support for the White House nominee for CDC director to get the agency “back on track.”
Editor’s Note (04/16/26): This story is under development and may be updated.
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