- The Senate has confirmed Erica Schwartz as CDC director
- Schwartz fills a CDC leadership post vacant for nearly a year
- The 2026 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 3 will explore AI, digital modernization and more
The Senate on Wednesday voted 51-44 to confirm Erica Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general, to serve as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As CDC leadership transitions continue to shape federal health policy, government and industry professionals can explore the priorities driving change across the health sector at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 3. The event will bring together officials from several federal health agencies to discuss digital tools, artificial intelligence and other modernization priorities. Book your spot now to join the conversation.
The confirmation ends a leadership vacancy at the CDC that had lasted nearly a year.
During her Senate confirmation hearing in July, Schwartz, who was nominated for the CDC post in April, told lawmakers that she would not compromise scientific integrity and was committed to full transparency in an effort to rebuild public trust in the agency.
Who Is Erica Schwartz?
Schwartz is a U.S. health official who now leads the CDC. She previously served as deputy surgeon general from 2019 to 2021.
Schwartz was a rear admiral and held several positions within the U.S. Coast Guard, including chief medical officer; director of health, safety and work life; chief of health services; and preventive medicine chief. She also served as a Navy occupational medicine physician, including posts at the Naval Medical Clinic in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.
The Brown University biomedical engineering graduate holds a medical degree from the same institution. Schwartz also has a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a law degree from the University of Maryland.
Who Has Been Leading CDC in an Acting Capacity?
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya has most recently been overseeing the CDC in an acting capacity, a role he assumed in February following the removal of Jim O’Neill amid a broader HHS leadership reshuffle. O’Neill had served as acting CDC director while also holding the role of HHS deputy secretary.
Bhattacharya took the helm of NIH in April 2025 after his Senate confirmation. He previously served as a tenured Stanford University professor researching population aging, chronic disease and health economics, and co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
