{"id":533,"date":"2026-07-16T20:09:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=533"},"modified":"2026-07-16T20:09:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:09:34","slug":"cdc-nominee-faces-questions-over-whether-she-can-lead-the-agency-independently-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=533","title":{"rendered":"CDC nominee faces questions over whether she can lead the agency independently"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn\u2019t appear to secure the support needed to take over the public health agency during a lengthy and often tense confirmation hearing Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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While Dr. Erica Schwartz told lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Committee that oversees health policy she would \u201cnever betray the science,\u201d she didn\u2019t seem to win the trust of Democrats or key Republicans needed to advance.<\/p>\n

Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., repeatedly questioned Schwartz about whether she would follow the example set by former CDC Director Susan Monarez, who testified last year that she was fired after refusing to pre-approve vaccine recommendations or fire career officials for no reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need unbiased leaders who make decisions based upon science, not politics or ideology, and are committed to protecting children’s health,\u201d Cassidy said in his opening statement.<\/p>\n

More than two hours later, at the end of the hearing, Cassidy told Schwartz he believed administration officials had overprepared her and that some of her answers missed the mark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like you were always trying not to answer my question, which was disappointing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cassidy, or any Republican on the committee where the party holds a thin 12-11 majority, could effectively block Schwartz\u2019s nomination if Democrats unanimously oppose it.<\/p>\n

Restoring trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schwartz, who worked as a Navy occupational medicine physician, earning the rank of admiral, and deputy surgeon general, testified that, if confirmed, she would work to rebuild the CDC\u2019s reputation among all Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first priority will be restoring trust in public health institutions through radical transparency and unwavering scientific integrity,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cAs CDC director, my sacred responsibility is to provide the American people with public health guidance that is clear, honest and evidence-based.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz said she would work to \u201cmodernize the CDC into a near real-time public health enterprise\u201d while ensuring local, state and tribal governments become the \u201coperational backbone of American public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz testified in response to questions from both Democrats and Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that she “accept(s) that evidence” that vaccines don\u2019t lead to an autism diagnosis. She said mRNA vaccine \u201ctechnology is safe and effective.”<\/p>\n

Tracking abortions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley asked Schwartz to look into the possible health implications for people who live close to a data center, saying his constituents regularly ask him about it and he doesn\u2019t know what to tell them.<\/p>\n

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Schwartz said she didn\u2019t know whether the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is housed within the CDC, had done any research on potential data center health implications. If confirmed, she committed to working with Hawley and his staff to look into the issue.<\/p>\n

Hawley also asked Schwartz if she would ensure the CDC secures data from every state in the country on when and how abortions take place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CDC collects data on abortions that are committed in the United States of America through a system called the Abortion Reporting System,\u201d Hawley said. \u201cThis system is voluntary, and so a number of states, not coincidentally large blue states, do not turn over any data, so that it’s difficult to get a picture of just how many abortions and under what circumstances are committed in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz testified she would look into the issue if confirmed, adding that \u201cabortion surveillance is absolutely a critical component of what the CDC is currently doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I also want to also make sure that certain states are not conflating emergency services and hiding abortions in that emergency services case definition,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to make sure we’re pulling out true abortions and making sure that we’re really having clear case definitions regarding abortions, so the data is actually accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyclosporiasis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray asked about the ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis and the CDC\u2019s disease monitoring programs during her round of questions.<\/p>\n

Schwartz said she believed \u201cthat one of the core missions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking outbreaks domestically and also internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz said she was unaware the Trump administration moved to make reporting of cyclosporiasis optional last year after Murray asked whether there would be \u201cany scientific or medical justification for CDC having eliminated mandatory reporting of that parasite.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CDC used to conduct surveillance on this very infection through a program called FoodNet, but in July of ’25, thanks to Trump, CDC made reporting on that illness optional,\u201d Murray said. \u201cNow we are here a year later, and we’re already seeing over 7,000 confirmed or under investigation cases and over 100 hospitalizations with no single cause having yet been identified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwartz didn\u2019t commit to reinstating mandatory reporting of cyclosporiasis if confirmed to run the CDC, but said she would work with Murray and her staff to understand why that stopped and what the options would be moving forward.<\/p>\n

Read more VA\u2019s push to shorten benefits forms needs more public input<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Erica Schwartz sought to reassure senators she would follow the science as lawmakers pressed her on vaccines, abortion data and disease surveillance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management"],"yoast_head":"\nCDC nominee faces questions over whether she can lead the agency independently - Market Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=533\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CDC nominee faces questions over whether she can lead the agency independently - 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