The Senate has confirmed health scientist and career civil servant Susan Monarez as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ending months of leadership vacancy at the agency. The confirmation, a 51-47 vote along party lines, places Monarez at the helm of a public health organization facing significant turmoil.
Monarez is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a 2023 law and the first in over 70 years to lead the agency without a medical degree. She takes charge of an institution that employees describe as chaotic, grappling with the departure of thousands of workers, deep program cuts, and a proposed budget slash for fiscal year 2026 by President Trump.
Trained as a microbiologist and immunologist, Monarez previously served as the deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and was the CDC’s acting director from January to March of this year. She was nominated after Trump’s initial pick, Florida physician Dave Weldon, was withdrawn amid Senate concerns over his stance on vaccines.
Public health leaders have expressed support for her appointment. “She’s a loyal, hardworking civil servant who leads with evidence and pragmatism,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University’s School of Public Health. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, added, “She values science, is a solid researcher, and has a history of being a good manager. We’re looking forward to working with her.”
During her confirmation hearing, Monarez identified restoring public trust, modernizing infrastructure, and ensuring a rapid response to outbreaks as her top priorities. “I will rebuild credibility by making CDC leadership more public-facing and accountable,” she stated, assuring that all recommendations would be “backed by publicly available, gold-standard science.”
Monarez will navigate the tension between traditional public health standards and the agenda of her superior, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known skeptic of vaccine safety. In her hearing, Monarez affirmed that “vaccines absolutely save lives” and committed to prioritizing their availability. She also endorsed the safety and importance of water fluoridation, a practice Kennedy has directed the CDC to re-evaluate based on unproven health claims.
Monarez defended the Trump administration’s vision to refocus the CDC on its “core mission of preventing, detecting and responding to infectious diseases.” She explained that programs addressing chronic diseases, obesity, and addiction would be moved to other parts of HHS, including a newly proposed Administration for a Healthy America.
Despite her qualifications, observers worry about her ability to lead independently. “My biggest anxiety for her is whether she will be able to lead with the independence and the commitment to letting the evidence drive the strategy,” Nuzzo commented.
The agency’s morale is reportedly at a low point. According to data from Representative Rosa DeLauro’s office, the CDC has lost approximately one-third of its staff since January.
Dr. Nirav Shah, a former principal deputy director at the CDC who left in February, called the plan to narrow the agency’s focus “shortsighted.”
“Health is multifaceted,” Shah said. “It’s not just the mosquitoes and viruses that we are exposed to, but it’s also the exercise we get, the foods we eat and the environment in which we live. A true public health agency should… take into account all of those risks and balance them.”
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