Trump Nominates Former Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz as CDC Director, His Third Pick for the Role
Rear Admiral Erica Schwartz, who served as deputy surgeon general during Trump's first term, would inherit an agency that has been without a permanent director for over eight months amid turmoil over vaccine policy.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, his third attempt to fill a role that has been vacant since August 2025.
Schwartz, a retired rear admiral who served as Trump's deputy surgeon general during his first term, would take over an agency that has been gutted by leadership turnover, mass resignations, and ongoing battles over vaccine policy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"It is my Honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He called the nominees "Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine" who would "restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC."
The Nominee
Schwartz spent 24 years in uniformed service across the Navy, Coast Guard, and U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She holds a medical degree from Brown University, a law degree from the University of Maryland, and a master's in public health from the Uniformed Services University.
As Coast Guard chief medical officer, she oversaw 42 clinics and 150 sick bays and developed the service's pandemic policy on influenza and viral disease outbreaks. She rose to the rank of rear admiral before serving as deputy surgeon general from January 2019 to April 2021.
After leaving government, Schwartz moved to the private sector. She became president of Insurance Solutions at UnitedHealth and joined the boards of Aveanna Healthcare and Butterfly Network, a medical imaging company.
A Leadership Revolving Door
The CDC director's office has been a revolving door since Trump took office:
- Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, was Trump's first pick. He was pulled in March 2025 after Republican senators signaled they would not confirm him.
- Susan Monarez, a career scientist, was then appointed but fired in August 2025 after refusing to approve vaccine policy changes demanded by Kennedy.
- Jim O'Neill served as acting director before departing in February 2026 after authorizing major cuts to the childhood vaccine schedule.
- Jay Bhattacharya, the NIH director, has been serving as interim CDC head since then.
Multiple senior CDC officials, including the chief medical officer, resigned following Monarez's dismissal over the vaccine policy dispute with Kennedy.
The Full Team
Trump announced four health appointments alongside Schwartz:
| Name | Role | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Slovenski | CDC Deputy Director and COO | Former Walmart and Humana executive |
| Dr. Jennifer Shuford | CDC Deputy Director and CMO | Commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services |
| Dr. Sara Brenner | Senior Counselor for Public Health to Kennedy | Former FDA principal deputy commissioner |
What's Next
Schwartz's nomination requires Senate confirmation through the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Bhattacharya is expected to continue as acting director during what could be a months-long confirmation process.
Schwartz's medical credentials and uniformed service record distinguish her from previous nominees. Weldon was a politician, not a physician. But her private-sector stint at UnitedHealth, the nation's largest health insurer, may draw scrutiny from senators on both sides of the aisle who have targeted insurance industry influence on healthcare policy.