Erica Schwartz testifies during her confirmation hearing for her nomination as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on July 15, 2026. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s decision to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appeared to fail to secure the support needed to take over the public health agency during a lengthy and often tense confirmation hearing Wednesday.
While Dr. When Erica Schwartz told lawmakers on the U.S. Senate committee that oversees health care policy that she would “never betray the science,” she did not appear to win the trust of Democrats or key Republicans she needed to move forward.
Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., repeatedly asked Schwartz if she would follow the lead of former CDC Director Susan Monarez stated She was fired last year for refusing to pre-approve vaccination recommendations or fire career civil servants without providing a reason.
“We need unbiased leaders who make decisions based on science, not politics or ideology, and who are committed to protecting children’s health,” Cassidy said in his opening remarks.
More than two hours later, at the end the hearingCassidy told Schwartz he believed administration officials overprepared her and that some of her answers missed the mark.
“I felt like you always tried not to answer my question, which was disappointing,” he said.
Cassidy or any other Republican on the committee, where the party has a slim 12-11 majority, could effectively block Schwartz’s nomination if Democrats unanimously oppose it.
Restore trust
Schwartz, who worked as a Navy occupational health physician and achieved the rank of admiral and deputy surgeon general, testified that if confirmed, she would work to restore the CDC’s reputation among all Americans.
“My first priority will be to restore trust in public health institutions through radical transparency and unwavering scientific integrity,” Schwartz said. “As CDC Director, it is my sacred responsibility to provide clear, honest, evidence-based public health guidance to the American people.”
Schwartz said she will work to “modernize the CDC into a near real-time public health enterprise” while ensuring that local, state and tribal governments become the “operational backbone of American public health.”
Schwartz, responding to questions from both Democrats and Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said she “accepts this evidence” that vaccinations do not lead to an autism diagnosis. She said the mRNA vaccine technology is “safe and effective.”
Track abortions
Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley asked Schwartz to look into it possible health effects for people who live near a data center and say his constituents regularly ask him about it and he doesn’t know what to tell them.
Schwartz said she didn’t know whether the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, housed within the CDC, had conducted any research into potential health impacts at data centers. If confirmed, she committed to working with Hawley and his staff to investigate the issue.
Hawley also asked Schwartz whether she would ensure that the CDC secures data from every state in the country about when and how abortions occur.
“The CDC collects data on abortions performed in the United States through a system called the Abortion Reporting System,” Hawley said. “This system is voluntary, and so some states, not coincidentally big blue states, do not share data, making it difficult to get a picture of how many abortions are being performed and under what circumstances in this country.”
Schwartz testified she would look into the matter if confirmed, adding that “abortion surveillance is an absolutely critical part of what the CDC is currently doing.”
“But I also want to make sure that certain states are not conflating emergency services and abortion in this emergency services case definition,” she said. “We need to make sure that we filter out real abortions and make sure that we have really clear case definitions for abortions so that the data is actually accurate.”
Cyclosporiasis
Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray asked about it ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis and the CDC’s disease surveillance programs during their Q&A session.
Schwartz said she believes “one of the core missions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking outbreaks at home and abroad.”
Schwartz said she was not aware that the Trump administration decided last year to make reporting of cyclosporiasis optional after Murray asked whether there was “any scientific or medical justification for the CDC eliminating reporting requirements for this parasite.”
“The CDC used to monitor this very infection through a program called FoodNet, but in July 25, thanks to Trump, the CDC made reporting on this disease optional,” Murray said. “Here we are a year later and we are already seeing over 7,000 confirmed or investigated cases and over 100 hospitalizations, with no single cause identified.”
Schwartz did not commit to reinstating mandatory reporting of cyclosporiasis if she is confirmed as head of the CDC, but said she would work with Murray and her staff to find out why it was stopped and what options there were going forward.
