CDC pick signals shift

President Trump has picked Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, installing a nominee who has publicly backed vaccination after months of turmoil at the agency. (thehill.com) Trump announced Schwartz on April 16, 2026. The Hill reported she served as deputy surgeon general in his first term and would be his third pick for the job. (thehill.com) If confirmed, Schwartz would become the fourth person to lead the agency in less than a year. The Hill reported Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Senate-confirmed director Susan Monarez less than a month after she took office after a dispute over vaccines. (thehill.com) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the federal agency that tracks outbreaks and issues vaccine guidance to doctors, schools and state health departments. Its leadership has been unsettled while measles cases have climbed nationwide. (cdc.gov) The CDC said April 16 that the United States had recorded 1,748 confirmed measles cases in 2026. The agency says measles is highly contagious and that measles, mumps and rubella vaccination is the best protection. (cdc.gov; cdc.gov) CDC guidance to clinicians says measles cases have been rising since early 2025 and that most recent cases were in children and teenagers who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. The agency also said three measles deaths were reported in 2025, including two school-aged children in Texas. (cdc.gov) Schwartz’s nomination also lands after the administration reshaped vaccine policy at the agency. On January 5, 2026, CDC said acting leadership accepted changes to the childhood immunization schedule after a presidential review ordered by Trump. (cdc.gov) The agency’s own leadership page now lists National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya as performing the delegable duties of CDC director. That temporary arrangement has been in place while the Senate awaits a new nominee. (cdc.gov; senate.gov) Schwartz now goes to the Senate for confirmation, where lawmakers can press her on vaccine policy, outbreak response and scientific independence at the CDC. The immediate test is whether her nomination steadies an agency issuing guidance during an active measles surge. (senate.gov; cdc.gov)