Dr. Erica Schwartz confronted questions from senators on vaccines and working businesses independently throughout her affirmation listening to to be the following director of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday.
Rating Member Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., requested Schwartz if she would take away a webpage updated last November on the CDC’s web site on autism and vaccines. The webpage states {that a} hyperlink between the 2 has been ignored regardless of many research discovering no such hyperlink.
Schwartz stated she accepted there may be “overwhelming proof” vaccines do not trigger autism, however didn’t decide to eradicating the webpage.
“Senator, I’ve been in conditions the place I’ve needed to go to my superiors within the army to have conversations, very tough conversations, about issues that will have been regarding to the troops or to the army personnel, and I’ll do the identical with [Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.],” she replied.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., requested Schwartz if she would cease the CDC from selling the flu vaccine throughout a foul flu season if requested to take action by Kennedy. Schwartz dodged the query, saying she did not communicate in hypotheticals.
“Are you going to guard our children, or are you going to comply with an uninformed order from the secretary?” Hassan requested
“Senator, I’ll at all times, at all times shield our youngsters,” Schwartz replied. Hassan stated that Schwartz’s reply was “disappointing,” stressing that the flu vaccine protects and saves lives.
Erica Schwartz attends her nomination listening to to turn out to be Director Of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention with the Senate Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill, July 15, 2026 in Washington.
Finn Gomez/Getty Pictures
Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon normal, was nominated by President Donald Trump in April. Trump made the announcement in a publish on Reality Social, describing Schwartz as “extremely gifted.”
She is the fourth individual named or nominated as head of the CDC since final summer time. If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz will exchange Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, who took over as performing CDC director in February.
Schwartz earned a medical diploma from Brown College and served within the U.S. Navy till 2005.
She served within the U.S. Public Well being Service Commissioned Corps, because the Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer and as Deputy Surgeon Normal from 2019 to early 2021, through the first Trump administration.
“I used to be more than happy to see Dr. Schwartz nominated to be the following director of the CDC,” Dr. Richard Besser, former performing director of the CDC through the Obama administration, advised ABC Information. “What struck me is how refreshing it felt to see somebody nominated for this job who really has deep expertise in public well being and has the credentials obligatory to steer a posh public well being group.”
Besser expressed concern about whether or not Schwartz, if confirmed, can have the independence from Kennedy to make public well being suggestions, referencing a earlier CDC director: Susan Monarez.
Monarez was confirmed as CDC director in July 2025, however she held the publish for lower than a month. Monarez was fired by Kennedy for reportedly not rubber-stamping the well being secretary’s vaccine agenda or firing high-ranking CDC leaders whom he opposed.
The turmoil led to each Kennedy and Monarez showing in entrance of Senate committees to handle the ousting.
At a Senate listening to, Kennedy denied telling Monarez to simply accept vaccine suggestions with out scientific proof and claimed she was fired partly as a result of she advised him she was untrustworthy.
Erica Schwartz attends her nomination listening to to turn out to be Director Of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention with the Senate Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill, July 15, 2026 in Washington.
Finn Gomez/Getty Pictures
Chairman Sen. Invoice Cassidy, R-La., pressed Schwartz on Wednesday on her willingness to face as much as potential political interference by Kennedy. Schwartz stated if she have been to be confirmed, she would serve.
“I’ll proceed to stay and lead by my integrity,” Schwartz stated. “If I am confirmed because the CDC director, the nation’s well being and well-being will take primacy and I’ll by no means compromise on that.”
Cassidy grew pissed off with Schwartz and repeatedly questioned whether or not she would have independence in her function and if she would communicate the reality even in tough moments.
“Will you’ve the flexibility to do this freed from political interference?” Cassidy stated.
“Chairman, the secretary completely will enable me to be the CDC director,” Schwartz replied, including “That’s the reason I’m sitting right here earlier than you.”
Cassidy then adopted up with Schwartz one other time. “Will you’ve the flexibility to say no to junk science, and to say sure to that which has been firmly established, and to stay up for what is definitely proper and true, versus that which is superstition and prejudice?” he requested.
“Chairman, I’ve at all times stood up for what is correct and what’s true, and I imagine that I’ll proceed to do this,” Schwartz answered. “You have got my assurances that I’ll try this. I’ll by no means betray the science ever. I’ll go the place the science leads us. I can’t have predetermined solutions to conclusions”
Sean Kaufman attends his affirmation listening to to be assistant secretary for preparedness and response for the Division of Well being and Human Companies with the Senate Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington.
Finn Gomez/Getty Pictures
Sean Kaufman additionally appeared earlier than the Senate HELP Committee for his affirmation listening to on Wednesday. Kaufman was nominated to steer the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which was not too long ago absorbed beneath CDC as a part of an HHS reorganization in 2025.
Kaufman has claimed with out proof that the COVID-19 vaccine triggered “extreme dying and damage … in the US and globally.” Well being officers have stated COVID-19 vaccines are secure and efficient following medical trials that concerned tens of hundreds of individuals and have since helped save millions of lives.
“What issues me about Mr. Kaufman is that he has expressed very robust anti-vaccine views, and the ASPR is answerable for the strategic nationwide stockpile,” Besser stated. “So, I hope that the committee asks him questions to completely perceive the strategy that he would absorb that function.”
All through the listening to, Kaufman claimed that he helps the usage of vaccines, however senators questioned his historical past of vaccine skepticism.
Throughout the closing moments of the listening to, Cassidy seized on a since-deleted LinkedIn publish that Kaufman had written, through which he expressed skepticism of the hepatitis B vaccine beginning dose.
Cassidy stated that Kaufman wrote international locations that had a beginning dose had the very best charges of hepatitis B, however that that is deceptive as a result of these international locations had a excessive fee of hepatitis B being handed from mom to child, not post-vaccination.
“So your LinkedIn publish was both uninformed or intentionally deceptive. … Why would you repeat these rattling lies?” Cassidy requested, including {that a} deceptive publish “destroys belief.”
Kaufman confused that his social media publish was pulled down and has since been mischaracterized.
“[In the post] I did say that I’ve at all times believed that vaccines are the gold normal of public well being,” Kaufman defined. “It is in that very same publish. And that publish that people have misrepresented and mischaracterized that I had tied the toddler dose to autism, that is a mischaracterization.”
