Dr. Erica Schwartz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the next director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), faced pointed questions about vaccines and scientific integrity at a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, July 15.
Schwartz, a physician who served as deputy surgeon general during the first Trump Administration, was grilled by senators of both political parties on whether she would stand up to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—her boss if she is confirmed—if he pushes for actions or policies that would endanger public health.
Schwartz told the Senate health committee that she would not “betray the science” as CDC director and vowed to “lead with integrity.” But some senators expressed concerns about her commitment to defy political interference.
“You can be CDC director and just take orders. We need a CDC director that will actually stand up to crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and the Republican chair of the committee.
“We’ve got thousands of kids hospitalized because people have promoted that immunization is bad, and now kids have died because of it,” he continued, before asking Schwartz if she would “have the ability and the firmness to stand up to that political meddling.”
“I will never compromise on the science. I will always, always have the public’s health in mind,” Schwartz replied, a response that Cassidy said wasn’t “quite the direct answer I was hoping for.”
Cassidy, whose Senate term will end in January after losing a reelection bid, cast a key vote last year that helped confirm Kennedy as health secretary. Cassidy said at the time that he was supporting Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, because he had vowed to protect access to vaccines and respect longstanding vaccine approval systems, among other promises. Kennedy has since reneged on many of them, according to Cassidy.
Schwartz told the committee that she believes in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and that, as a doctor, has personally administered shots to thousands of people. She added that she wants to be the “the CDC director for all Americans,” including people who have concerns about vaccines. “I want to make sure I understand why parents have vaccine hesitancy,” she said.
If confirmed, Schwartz would take the helm of a beleaguered agency that has lacked consistent leadership and has experienced significant staffing and budget cuts since Trump took office.
In that time, the CDC has had only one confirmed director—Susan Monarez, who served in the position for less than a month before being fired by Trump last August after a clash with Kennedy. Monarez says she was ousted because she refused to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations and fire career scientists.
Citing Monarez’s experience, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the top Democrat on the health committee, asked Schwartz if she would commit to alerting Congress if Kennedy or another member of the Trump Administration urges her “to implement policies that aren’t scientific and could harm the health and well-being of the American people.”
“Senator, I do not believe that the president or the secretary would ever do what you just mentioned,” Schwartz said.
“Really? You think that is the record?” Sanders said.
Schwartz is a board-certified preventive medicine physician and a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She previously served as chief medical officer of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Former public-health officials have expressed support for Schwartz’s nomination, including Dr. Brett Giroir, a former U.S. assistant secretary for health, and Dr. Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general and Schwartz’s former boss.
“Dr. Schwartz is a home-run pick,” Adams told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in April.
Dr. Debra Houry, CDC’s former chief medical officer who resigned in protest from the agency after Monarez’s ouster, told TIME that Schwartz “has the right qualifications” for the job.
Houry observed, however, that several senators appeared frustrated during Schwartz’s confirmation hearing because of her failure to provide direct answers to questions about political interference.
Alongside Schwartz, the senators also heard testimony on Wednesday from Sean Kaufman, nominated by Trump to serve as the assistant secretary for strategic preparedness and response at HHS. Kaufman was questioned by senators about his views on public health and vaccines, including comments he made in the past casting doubt on the safety of vaccines. In a 2022 video, Kaufman said he hated the CDC.
If confirmed, Kaufman would run an agency focused on helping the U.S. prepare for public-health emergencies, including developing vaccines and other countermeasures.