USA16 July, 20263 min read
Senate Grills CDC Director Nominee Erica Schwartz Over Vaccine Independence From Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Schwartz expressed vaccine support and medical evidence but did not commit independence from RFK Jr. Senators pressed her about White House pressure on vaccine policy and CDC independence.
Schwartz faces vaccine test
In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Trump’s CDC nominee Erica Schwartz told the committee, “I have been vaccinating people throughout my entire career in uniformed services. I believe in vaccines,” as she argued for vaccines including mRNA-based covid shots while not dispelling concerns the CDC has lost independence from the White House.
Schwartz said, “I do believe that mRNA technology is safe and effective,” and she pledged, “I will follow the science wherever it leads,” as senators pressed her on whether she would resist pressure from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The hearing came after Kennedy ousted Trump’s previous CDC director, Susan Monarez, after she sparred with him over vaccines, and the CDC has had a Senate-confirmed leader for only about one month during Trump’s second term.
The nomination also unfolded as the CDC has been roiled over administration cuts to public health funding, firings of scientists and other career employees, and efforts to scale back childhood vaccines and access to covid shots.
In the same hearing, Schwartz faced questioning alongside Trump’s pick for HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, Sean Kaufman, after Cassidy accused Kaufman of spreading “those damn lies.”
Cassidy, Sanders press for answers
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, pressed Schwartz on whether she would push back against rhetoric or policies not based in science, saying, “We need unbiased leaders who make decisions based upon science, not politics or ideology,” and he added, “This is not a theoretical.”
Cassidy also challenged Kaufman during the hearing over a misleading social media post about the hepatitis B vaccine, half-shouting, “I don’t know what you were thinking. Why would you say — why would you repeat those damn lies?”
Sen. Bernie Sanders raised the issue of whether Schwartz would report to Congress if Kennedy or another Trump administration figure directed unscientific policies, while Schwartz replied, “I do not believe that the president or the secretary would ever do what you just mentioned.”
Sen. Patty Murray questioned Schwartz about why the CDC had eliminated mandatory tracking of the cyclospora parasite last July, and Schwartz responded, “First I’ve heard of that.”
The hearing also included Schwartz’s insistence that she would “never compromise” on science and that she would “always follow the law,” even as she repeatedly declined to dissent from some actions tied to Kennedy’s vaccine agenda.
CDC credibility and leadership vacuum
Multiple outlets described the stakes for the CDC as leadership instability and politicization concerns, with NPR saying the agency “has not had a permanent director for most of Trump’s second term in office” and that Schwartz would work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the CDC.
NPR quoted Lisa Blunt Rochester saying, “I am very, very concerned that even qualified people have either had to change their positions or quit,” and it reported that Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, told NPR that “The political agenda is still there.”
The hearing also unfolded against a backdrop in which the CDC has had a Senate-confirmed leader for only about one month during Trump’s second term, and KFF Health News reported the agency has been roiled over “efforts to scale back childhood vaccines and access to covid shots.”
KFF Health News further noted that Schwartz’s position contrasts with Kennedy’s record, including that Kennedy “has baselessly called mRNA vaccines the deadliest ever made,” while Schwartz told senators, “My first priority will be restoring trust in public health institutions through radical transparency and unwavering scientific integrity.”
If confirmed, Schwartz would replace Jay Bhattacharya, who is performing the duties of CDC director, as the Senate HELP committee decides whether to advance her nomination for a full Senate vote.