Erica Schwartz testifies during her nomination hearing for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on July 15, 2026. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not appear to provide the support needed to take over the public health agency during a long and often tense hearing on Wednesday.
Although Dr. Erica Schwartz told lawmakers on the U.S. Senate committee that oversees health policy that she would “never betray the science,” she didn’t seem to gain the trust of Democrats or key Republicans needed to make progress.
Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., repeatedly asked Schwartz whether she would follow the example of former CDC Director Susan Monarez, who he testified she was fired last year after she refused to pre-approve vaccine recommendations or fire officials without cause.
“We need impartial leaders who make decisions based on science, not politics or ideology, and are committed to protecting children’s health,” Cassidy said in his opening statement.
Over two hours later, towards the end hearingCassidy told Schwartz that he thought administration officials had overprepared her and that some of her answers were misleading.
“I felt like you always tried not to answer my question, which was disappointing,” he said.
Cassidy or any Republican on the committee, where the party holds a slim 12-11 majority, could effectively block Schwartz’s nomination if Democrats unanimously oppose it.
Restoring trust
Schwartz, who worked as a Navy occupational medicine physician, achieving the rank of admiral and deputy surgeon general, testified that if confirmed, she would work to rebuild the CDC’s reputation among all Americans.
“My first priority will be to restore trust in public health institutions through radical transparency and unwavering scientific integrity,” Schwartz said. “As CDC director, it is my sacred duty to provide Americans with public health guidance that is clear, fair and evidence-based.”
Schwartz said she would work to “modernize the CDC into a near real-time public health enterprise,” while ensuring that local, state and tribal governments become “the operational backbone of American public health.”
In response to questions from Democrats and Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Schwartz testified that she “accepts this evidence” that vaccines do not lead to an autism diagnosis. She said the mRNA vaccine “technology is safe and effective.”
Abortion tracking
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley asked Schwartz to look into the matter possible health effects for people living near the data center, claiming that his constituents regularly ask him about it and he doesn’t know what to tell them.
Schwartz said she did not know whether the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is housed at the CDC, has conducted any research on the potential health consequences of data centers. If the information is confirmed, it pledged to work with Hawley and his staff to investigate the matter.
Hawley also asked Schwartz whether she would make sure the CDC secures data from every state in the country on when and how abortions are performed.
“The CDC collects data on abortions occurring in the United States through a system called the Abortion Reporting System,” Hawley said. “This system is voluntary, so many states, and not coincidentally the big blue states, do not report any data, so it is difficult to get a picture of how many abortions are occurring in this country and under what circumstances.”
Schwartz testified that she would look into the issue if confirmed, adding that “abortion surveillance is an absolutely key component of what the CDC is currently doing.”
“But I also want to make sure that some states are not confusing emergency services with concealing abortion in this emergency services case definition,” she said. “We need to make sure that we are phasing out real abortions and that we really have clear case definitions for abortions so that the data is actually accurate.”
Cyclosporosis
This was asked by Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray continuing epidemic of cyclosporosis and CDC disease surveillance programs during her question round.
Schwartz stated that she believes “one of the primary missions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to track epidemics at home and abroad.”
Schwartz said she was unaware that the Trump administration had moved to make voluntary reporting of cyclosporiasis optional last year after Murray asked whether there was “any scientific or medical justification for the CDC to eliminate mandatory reporting of this parasite.”
“CDC was conducting surveillance for this very infection through a program called FoodNet, but in July 25, thanks to Trump, CDC made reporting of this disease optional,” Murray said. “Now here we are a year later and we already see over 7,000 confirmed or under investigation cases and over 100 hospitalizations where no single cause has yet been identified.”
Schwartz did not commit to restoring mandatory cyclosporosis reporting if she is confirmed to lead the CDC, but said she would work with Murray and her staff to understand why it stopped and what options will be available in the future.
