The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended Dr. Erica Schwartz, deputy U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The choice of CDC director is not final and still requires Trump’s approval before moving forward, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
It’s unclear whether Trump will ultimately move forward with Schwartz or select another candidate.
The Washington Post was first to report on the possible appointment of Schwartz.
An HHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. In an emailed statement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said, “Any reporting on personnel decisions, unless officially announced by the White House, should be considered baseless speculation.” »
Dr. Erica Schwartz.Ministry of Health and Social ServicesThe CDC has been without a permanent director since August.
The Trump administration’s top pick, former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon, was withdrawn in March 2025 after Republican senators signaled he would not be confirmed. Officials then turned to Susan Monarez, a career scientist who already served as interim director. She led the agency for just a month last summer before she was fired in August after clashing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Jim O’Neill then served as acting director of the agency for several months. O’Neill signed a major overhaul of the childhood vaccination schedule in January, which has since been blocked by a federal judge. He was replaced by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya. in Februarywho has since overseen the agency in an unusual dual role.
Schwartz spent over 20 years in uniform through the U.S. Navy, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. She left her position as deputy surgeon general in 2021.
Schwartz, a physician, earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a medical degree from Brown University. She also holds a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a law degree from the University of Maryland.
If selected, Schwartz will assume the role as the agency grapples with controversial policy changes under Kennedy.
Last month, a federal judge in Massachusetts, in a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other medical organizations, stopped many vaccine policy changes conducted as part of the CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Committee, hand-picked by Kennedy, also known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. This decision also blocked the overhaul of the vaccination schedule. The agency has not yet appealed the decision.
This month, Kennedy signed a new charter for the ACIP — a move that was seen by health policy experts as a way to get around the judge’s ruling.