The US Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday, ending a near yearlong vacancy left after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr sacked previous director Susan Monarez last August for refusing to endorse vaccine guidance from his hand-picked advisory panel. Although Schwartz has strong public health credentials and a record of advocating for vaccines, her confirmation followed a widely criticised Senate hearing in which she repeatedly declined to say she would resist Kennedy's anti-vaccine stance, prompting health experts to withdraw their support for her nomination.

Schwartz was confirmed by 51 votes to 44 and holds a medical degree, a master's in public health and a law degree, alongside senior roles including chief medical officer for the US Coast Guard and deputy surgeon general during Trump's first term. During her hearing, she insisted a president or health secretary would never sideline a CDC director as happened to Monarez, drawing a sceptical "Really?" from Senator Bernie Sanders, and the National Public Health Coalition subsequently said it could not back her nomination. Her confirmation ultimately hinged on support from Senator Bill Cassidy, who called her hearing performance "disappointing" but said later conversations with her and former colleagues had reassured him.