Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz as new CDC director

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Erica Schwartz, a deputy U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first stint in the White House, is in consideration to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person familiar with the internal discussions told Reuters. In her role as deputy surgeon general, Schwartz engaged in the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic and supervised national preparedness and public health coordination efforts. The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is also considering three candidates to serve in senior roles to support Schwartz. Sean Slovenski, a former Walmart executive, is the planned pick to serve in a chief operating officer position, and Jennifer Shuford, an infectious-disease physician who is Texas’s health commissioner, would serve in a senior medical role, and Sara Brenner, a senior Food and Drug Administration official, would also transition over to the CDC. The CDC has endured a myriad of changes in the agency, which began with Trump firing Director ​Susan Monarez in August 2025, after she raised questions about vaccine policy changes ⁠planned by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Reuters reported that Monarez was replaced by HHS Deputy ​Secretary Jim O'Neill, who was supplanted in February by Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the ​U.S. National Institutes of Health. Erica Schwartz has a medical degree from Brown University and a law degree from the University of Maryland. In January 2021, she left government after the incoming Biden administration informed her that she would not be selected to serve as acting U.S. surgeon general, The Washington Post reported. The Wall Street Journal reported that as a physician, Schwartz spent over 20 years in uniform, starting in the U.S. Navy before joining the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard. While in the Coast Guard, she became rear admiral and served as the branch’s chief medical officer, among other roles. The Washington Post's Lena H. Sun joins LiveNOW's Alexandra Goldberg to discuss. Subscribe to LiveNOW from FOX! https://www.youtube.com/livenowfox?sub_confirmation=1 Where to watch LiveNOW from FOX: https://www.livenowfox.com Follow us @LiveNOWFOX on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livenowfox Raw and unfiltered. Watch a non-stop stream of breaking news, live events and stories across the nation. Limited commentary. No opinion. Experience LiveNOW from FOX. Live news streaming channel when and where you need it.