The Senate Health Committee postponed a vote Thursday on Dr. Erica Schwartz, President Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced his support for her nomination.
Cassidy said he was confident Schwartz would “stand against those who do not” follow the science when he opened the committee session. His endorsement is expected to be decisive in advancing Schwartz to the full Senate, but the vote was delayed due to attendance issues and is now expected to take place next week.
“I’m confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not,” Cassidy said, as reported by The Hill.
The CDC director position has been without a confirmed leader for months. Schwartz’s predecessor, Susan Monarez, was fired after less than a month on the job following clashes with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine agenda.
During Schwartz’s confirmation hearing last week, Cassidy pressed her on whether she could maintain the CDC’s scientific independence if Kennedy pushed her to take actions not backed by evidence. The question had direct historical weight: Kennedy directed CDC to alter its vaccine and autism webpage last year, removing a long-standing disclaimer that vaccines do not cause autism, replacing it with language calling that conclusion “not an evidence-based claim.”
Cassidy said Thursday that HHS had since modified the page back as “a sign of good faith,” and he called it “a start” while saying more work remains to repair public trust in U.S. health agencies.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the committee’s minority leader, said he would vote against Schwartz. Sanders said he was “impressed” with her career as a civil servant but did not believe she would stand up to Kennedy.
“Will we have people in the Trump administration who have the guts to stand up to people who are anti-science and into conspiracy theories?” Sanders asked. “I am afraid that right now, within HHS, we have a secretary who will not tolerate this.”
The committee also delayed action Thursday on Sean Kaufman, Trump’s nominee to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which oversees the nation’s emergency health stockpiles and pandemic response infrastructure. Kaufman drew sharp questions at his hearing last week about his views on vaccines. A committee spokesperson said “ongoing conversations with the administration” are continuing on how to advance his nomination.
Schwartz is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate once the committee advances her nomination next week. Her confirmation would end the extended leadership vacuum at the CDC and set up a direct test of whether she can hold the agency’s scientific mission intact under Kennedy’s watch at HHS.
