The Senate’s health committee on July 30 advanced the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted to advance the nomination of Schwartz, the Coast Guard’s former chief medical officer and deputy surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The full Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, will have to confirm Schwartz in a majority vote for her to become the CDC’s director.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) joined with Republicans to advance Schwartz’s nomination.
“I believe vaccines are safe and effective,” Schwartz said at one point.
Cassidy and some other senators said that whoever becomes the next CDC director would need to be ready to refuse to follow directives that undermine what Cassidy called “faith in immunization.”
“After speaking with Dr. Schwartz again after the hearing, reviewing the transcript, and speaking to those who have served with her and know her well, I’m confident that she knows what she’s doing and will stand against those who do not,” Cassidy said in a recent hearing.
Some allies of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized Schwartz after she spoke to senators.
“Meet your CDC nominee who ‘believes’ in vaccines,” Aaron Siri, Kennedy’s former lawyer, wrote on X. “One day we will get someone who thinks critically about instead of believing in and worshiping these products.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was one of the senators who voted against advancing the nomination. “We need people in this country who can stand up, protect the American people, and I don’t think you’re going to see that right now with Secretary Kennedy in his position,” Sanders said.
The Senate health committee also on July 30 advanced the nomination of Sean Kaufman to become assistant health secretary for preparedness and response.
Cassidy and some other senators had been critical of Kaufman in the past, questioning certain vaccines, including COVID-19 shots, but Kennedy said he has received assurances that if Kaufman is confirmed, he will not be involved in vaccine policy.
Kaufman said during his confirmation hearing, “I believe 100 percent that vaccines are safe and effective and that we should have conversations with our physicians to make a determination on which and what is the best risk-benefit equation for that patient.”
The Department of Health and Human Services also has committed to taking actions to address Cassidy’s broader concerns with the agency’s position on vaccines, including key personnel changes, Cassidy said.
The Senate has only confirmed one CDC director during Trump’s second term. Susan Monarez served just one month before being fired by the president after she clashed with Kennedy on how to handle guidance from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel.
Monarez has accused Kennedy of wanting her to rubberstamp advice from the panel, while Kennedy has said he merely wanted her to commit to keeping an open mind about whatever advice it offered.
