(Photo illustration by The Bulwark / Photos: Getty, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
IT’S BEEN A ROUGH FEW DAYS for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a promising few days for public health.
Maybe.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced his intention to name a permanent CDC director, filling a post that has been vacant since last summer when he fired then-director Susan Monarez.¹ She had been on the job for just a few weeks when she refused to sign off on some of Kennedy’s efforts to roll back federal support of vaccination.
Kennedy as secretary of health and human services didn’t have the power to dismiss her directly, so he got Trump to do it. It was among the clearest public indications of how much sway Kennedy held within the administration—and how much room Trump was giving him to reshape public health policy, especially on vaccines.
But that was then. The administration’s new choice to lead the CDC is Erica Schwartz, a Brown University-educated physician who served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term. Schwartz has extensive experience as a public servant, including as a decorated Navy veteran who was medical director for the Coast Guard. More revealingly, she has a record of promotingvaccination.
To put it a bit more directly, Schwartz seems to be a well-qualified appointee with views that put her squarely within the bounds of mainstream medicine. And you don’t have to take my word for it.
Among those vouching for her is Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general during Trump’s first term and who has been among the most outspoken critics of Kennedy’s anti-vaccination efforts. Adams said on X Thursday that he had “personally selected” Schwartz to be his deputy, then went on to describe her as “a battle-tested leader with decades of distinguished public service” who “has the expertise, credibility, and integrity to lead the CDC effectively.” He ended with “Well done, @realDonaldTrump” and the applause emoji.
But the most telling reaction to the Schwartz pick came from the other side of the debate—from leaders in the anti-vaccination movement, who are treating her appointment as a significant betrayal. ...
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