White House favors former deputy surgeon general to lead CDC, Washington Post says

The White House is considering Erica Schwartz as the new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Washington Post said Tuesday, citing three sources who requested anonymity to talk about the plan.

Schwartz, a former Navy doctor, was deputy U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The newspaper added that Sean Slovenski, a former Walmart executive, is also projected as Schwartz’s top aide, pending Trump’s approval.

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The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
News of Schwartz’s appointment came after Trump’s Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It follows leadership changes at the CDC since it fired Director Susan Monarez last August over her objection to vaccine policy changes planned by the CDC. He was replaced by HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, and in February he was replaced by Jay Bhattacharya, director of the US National Institutes of Health.

O’Neill, who has served as acting CDC director in addition to his HHS role since August, left both in February and was offered the position of director of the National Science Foundation.

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Texas health commissioner Jen Shuford and top FDA official Sara Brenner for their senior CDC roles, as well as Dan Diamond, a reporter at the newspaper, also posted on X, citing sources.