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Judge blocks Trump from closing East Potomac Park golf course for now Trump asks Supreme Court to curb judges' power to void unlawful rules nationwide On tape: Richard Blumenthal says the Trump administration let $190 million in anti-human trafficking grants lapse On tape: Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, on the House floor: the president never asked Congress before sending troops… Massie to force new House vote to end Trump's Iran war before he leaves in January Over 200 Democrats ask appeals court to strike down VA's abortion ban for veterans Kushner says U.S. is brokering Europe-Russia talks and planning next Ukraine round Blumenthal says Lutnick 'must go' over stalled Nvidia chip blacklist for Megaspeed NBC says Democrat Mary Peltola likely to beat Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska On tape: Hakeem Jeffries: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could face Intel Committee subpoenas over Nvidia scandal Judge blocks Trump from closing East Potomac Park golf course for now Trump asks Supreme Court to curb judges' power to void unlawful rules nationwide On tape: Richard Blumenthal says the Trump administration let $190 million in anti-human trafficking grants lapse On tape: Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, on the House floor: the president never asked Congress before sending troops… Massie to force new House vote to end Trump's Iran war before he leaves in January Over 200 Democrats ask appeals court to strike down VA's abortion ban for veterans Kushner says U.S. is brokering Europe-Russia talks and planning next Ukraine round Blumenthal says Lutnick 'must go' over stalled Nvidia chip blacklist for Megaspeed NBC says Democrat Mary Peltola likely to beat Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska On tape: Hakeem Jeffries: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could face Intel Committee subpoenas over Nvidia scandal
Erica Schwartz
Photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public domain

The Administration · Health agencies

Erica Schwartz

CDC Director

A retired rear admiral and former deputy surgeon general, she became the CDC's first confirmed director in nearly a year in August 2026, taking over during a record measles year and a fight over vaccine policy.

Biography

Erica Schwartz trained as both a doctor and a lawyer. She earned an engineering degree and a medical degree at Brown University, a public health degree at the military's medical school and a law degree at the University of Maryland. 1 2 She began as a Navy occupational medicine physician, then moved in 2005 to the U.S. Public Health Service and was assigned to the Coast Guard, where she wrote health guidance for responders to Hurricane Katrina, the H1N1 flu, the Haiti earthquake and Ebola. 2

She became a rear admiral and the Coast Guard's chief medical officer in 2015 and deputy surgeon general in January 2019, during the first Trump administration. 1 2 Her official biography credits her with helping set up drive-through COVID-19 testing sites in every state. 2 She left government in 2021 and from 2022 until mid-2026 was a senior executive at UnitedHealth Group; she pledged to resign her outside posts and sell holdings if confirmed. 1

President Trump named her on April 16, 2026, and the Senate confirmed her 51-44 on August 5. 1 3 She is only the second CDC director to go through Senate confirmation, and the first Black woman to hold the job. 3 1 The previous confirmed director, Susan Monarez, was fired in August 2025 after less than a month in a dispute with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. 3

She inherits an agency that has lost thousands of employees and faces a measles count for 2026 that had already passed the 2025 total by early August. 3 4 At her hearing she promised guidance that is clear, honest and based on evidence; critics said she avoided saying what she would do if Kennedy pressed her to approve recommendations without evidence. 3 A decision on whether the United States keeps its measles elimination status was expected in November 2026. 4

In the job

The acts and events that have defined the post so far, oldest first.

  1. Named by President Trump as his nominee for CDC director. 1

  2. At her Senate hearing she said she supported withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization and pledged to base guidance on science; Sen. Bill Cassidy pressed her on whether she would back vaccines under pressure. 1 3

  3. Confirmed by the Senate, 51-44. Cassidy said he was confident she would stand up to people who do not follow the science; Sen. Bernie Sanders voted no. 3

  4. Before she was sworn in, the president signed an executive order on childhood vaccine recommendations that calls for splitting the measles-mumps-rubella shot and narrows the list of universally recommended vaccines; the CDC director and its advisory committee must still act through the formal process. 4

  5. Took office as director. 1

  6. The agency she was about to lead had confirmed 2,465 measles cases for 2026, more than the 2,289 counted in all of 2025. 4

Disputes, and their side

What critics, courts or investigators have said, and the answer given. An allegation is not a finding.

  1. Asked how she would respond if the health secretary pressed her to approve recommendations regardless of evidence, she said he would never ask her to; Johns Hopkins physician Amesh Adalja and most Senate Democrats called that an evasion. 3

    Their side: She said her responsibility as director is to give the public guidance that is clear, honest and evidence-based. 3

  2. Reuters reported on her financial ties to the health insurance industry and her plan to resign from her posts and sell holdings if confirmed, according to Wikipedia's summary. 1

    Their side: She resigned from the Aveanna Healthcare board after her confirmation, according to a filing reported on August 9, 2026. 1

Career

  1. U.S. Navy medical officer; occupational medicine physician and preventive medicine department head
  2. U.S. Public Health Service officer detailed to the Coast Guard; chief of preventive medicine, then chief of health services
  3. Rear admiral and Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard
  4. Deputy Surgeon General of the United States
  5. Corporate board member at Aveanna Healthcare and Butterfly Network
  6. President of insurance solutions for Medicare and retirement at UnitedHealth Group
  7. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Our reporting

We have not yet published a story that names Erica Schwartz. When we do, it will appear here.

Sources for this file

  1. Wikipedia, Erica Schwartz, Nov. 13, 2026
  2. CDC.gov, CDC Director and ATSDR Administrator, Oct. 30, 2026
  3. NPR (via KUOW), Dr. Erica Schwartz confirmed as CDC director, filling a leadership vacuum, Aug. 5, 2026
  4. CIDRAP (University of Minnesota), An executive order, a confirmed director, and 20 straight months of measles: The State of US Vaccine Policy, Aug. 13, 2026
  5. Wikipedia, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nov. 13, 2026

File checked Nov. 13, 2026. Something wrong or out of date? Tell the desk.