NPR | Wednesday, July 15, 2026 
CDC director nominee Erica Schwartz faces Senate for confirmation hearing

Dr. Erica Schwartz, Trump’s latest nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is scheduled to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday morning to answer questions about her vision and qualifications for the role. The confirmation hearing, with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, will be Schwartz’s first public appearance since Trump nominated her for the role in mid-April. Schwartz is Trump’s third nominee to lead the nation’s beleaguered public health agency, which has not had a permanent director for most of Trump’s second term in office. If confirmed, Schwartz will work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC. Schwartz is a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, with degrees in medicine, law and public health. She previously served as chief medical officer of the U.S. Coast Guard and as deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration. Earlier this year, on Instagram, Schwartz voiced her support for vaccines as tools to prevent illness and promote readiness in the military. (Her Instagram page was removed soon after she was nominated for the CDC director role.) Public health veterans say she has the credentials and experience for the job. “People are very optimistic about her candidacy and are supportive of her potentially being in the role,” says Dr. Marcus Plescia, district health director for Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, where the CDC is headquartered…Read more