CDC nominee clears key Senate hurdle despite vaccine scrutiny

Dr. Erica Schwartz got a step closer in her bid to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after a key U.S. Senate panel propelled her nomination to the Senate floor Thursday. 

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted, 13-10, to advance Schwartz’s nomination with all GOP members backing her bid. President Donald Trump nominated Schwartz in April.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was the only Democrat on the panel who voted to move her nomination forward. 

Thursday’s vote followed a tense confirmation hearing this month, during which members from both parties grilled Schwartz over how she would deal with any political interference from the Trump administration when it comes to vaccine policy. 

The panel’s chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy, appeared dissatisfied with Schwartz’s responses at her confirmation hearing, but ultimately moved to advance her bid. 

“After speaking with Dr. Schwartz again after the hearing, reviewing the transcript and speaking to those who have served with her and know her well, I’m confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not,” the Louisiana Republican said July 23, the day the committee had initially scheduled the vote before a postponement. 

If confirmed, Schwartz would be responsible for the national public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, which has taken heat over the vaccine-skeptical agenda pursued by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Susan Monarez, the former CDC director, told the Senate panel in September she was fired for resisting Kennedy’s orders regarding vaccines. 

Schwartz worked as an occupational medicine physician in the U.S. Navy. She transferred to the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, where she achieved the rank of rear admiral. 

Schwartz also served as the chief medical officer of the U.S Coast Guard and later as deputy surgeon general of the United States.