Trump is expected to nominate new CDC director, as measles keeps spreading

As the Trump administration prepares to name a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, insiders say they fear the nominee will further undermine trust in the nation’s top health agency, even as measles outbreaks intensify and the federal government’s vaccine policies face resistance.

President Donald Trump is expected to name the nominee on Truth Social by Wednesday. If confirmed by the Senate, the director will inherit an agency marked by a chaos of mass layoffs, a deadly shooting and hollowed-out leadership.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and current acting CDC director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya have long criticized the CDC, focusing largely on Covid missteps, but have not proposed ways to support or strengthen the agency, CDC staffers said.

“I don’t disagree with the idea that we’ve lost a lot of trust, but I think it’s a bit wrong for leaders to ask us to rebuild trust,” a senior official said. “It’s a two-way street.” The person asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.

“They keep saying that the CDC has a lot of work to do to regain public trust,” said another scientist who also asked to remain anonymous. “I don’t think blaming public employees is the way to solve this problem.”

The White House and Department of Health and Human Services have remained mum on potential candidates. The Washington Post reported that Mississippi Health Director Dr. Daniel Edney was on a short list of names.

Dr. David Margolius, Cleveland’s public health director and a member of the Big Cities Health Coalition, said he had the chance to work with Edney during a CDC-led meeting of health officials from across the country in 2024.

“He was truly caring and it was clear that what drove him was his desire to improve the health of people in his home country,” Margolius said. This type of focus on public health would be a key attribute for the next CDC director, he said. “We don’t need a TV personality. We don’t need a social media spokesperson. We need someone who collaborates and prioritizes the health of the people of the country, not their egos.”

Other potential appointments circulating in CDC rumors include former director Dr. Robert Redfield, who served during Trump’s first term. He recently spoke to people living in Ave Maria, Florida, about the ongoing measles outbreak in that community, encouraging them to get vaccinated.

Relentless outbreaks have brought the United States to the brink of losing its measles elimination status, even though childhood vaccinations — and the CDC in general — do not appear to be the White House’s priority as the November midterm elections approach. Kennedy instead highlighted efforts to lower drug prices, new dietary guidelines and America’s reliance on ultra-processed foods, policies pursued by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Spin your wheels”

Beyond the director, other important positions remain vacant, including senior deputy director and chief medical officer.

These positions are essential in part because they prioritize which projects receive funding and resources.

“Usually the director proposes what the top priorities are, and then the whole agency is reorganized to be able to deliver on those priorities,” said Dr. Demeter Daskalakis, who previously led the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “But the agency hasn’t had any new priorities. It just sits there, spinning its wheels, putting out fires. You have a ship without a captain.”

Susan Monarez was the only person to hold the title of CDC director during Trump’s second term, holding the position for just 29 days last summer. Monarez was fired, she said in congressional testimony, because she refused to give in to Kennedy’s demands to endorse vaccine recommendations without scientific backing.

His ouster led to a cascade of high-level resignations at the CDC, including that of chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who led the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Daskalakis. None of these roles have been filled.

Before Trump’s second term, presidents simply appointed their own CDC director and did not need Senate approval. That changed with the CDC Leadership Accountability Act of 2023, which was intended, as its name suggests, to strengthen accountability within the agency following missteps during the pandemic.

In March 2025, the White House withdrew Trump’s first nomination to head the CDC, former Rep. Dave Weldon, the day before his confirmation hearing. It appeared he didn’t want the votes confirmed, sources said at the time.

Once Monarez left office, the White House had 210 days to announce another nominee, according to federal law. This deadline is March 25.

The CDC has had several acting directors since last summer, most recently Bhattacharya, who is also head of the National Institutes of Health. Although Bhattacharya has been critical of the CDC and pandemic-related lockdowns, his tone appears to have softened.

“There are a tremendous number of professionals at the CDC who care deeply about public health,” Bhattacharya said during a March 17 House Appropriations Committee hearing. “What I found was that there was a real openness to discuss topics where there was disagreement within public health – a real sense of professionalism.”

While staff wait for new management, projects flounder, with many awaiting funding.

“Things sit on people’s desks for months, just waiting for approval from the principal’s office,” the senior official said. Supplies expire or are thrown out as staff wait to hear if work can move forward, employees told NBC News.

It is critical that whoever is ultimately appointed, CDC members said, work with career scientists rather than against them. At the very least, one person said, it should be “someone who won’t make life more miserable than it already is.”

The nominee will need to be confirmed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee before the nomination is official.

“A lot of people are ready to return to work,” a senior official said. “The American public deserves a world-class CDC. I really hope we have leadership that believes in that, too.”