Trump nominates Susan Monarez as CDC director
CDC acting director Dr Susan Monarez.
President Donald Trump has nominated another candidate to lead the CDC – acting director Susan Monarez – after withdrawing support for his first choice a couple of weeks ago.
Monarez replaces Dave Weldon, Trump's first pick, whose nomination was withdrawn after it became apparent that he would not win the votes needed to make it through the Senate confirmation process. Weldon, a former Florida congressman and a medical doctor, has courted controversy in recent years by questioning the safety of vaccines.
If confirmed, Monarez will permanently assume a role she has been fulfilling since January after the previous director Mandy Cohen, appointed by former President Joe Biden, stepped down after 18 months in the job.
The CDC, which has a $17.3 billion total budget, is charged with protecting the US from disease outbreaks and other public health threats and has faced sweeping job cuts under Trump – although it recently emerged that some probationary staffers who had been fired have subsequently been asked to return to work.
Its current tasks include handling the measles outbreak in the US linked to falling vaccination rates and monitoring the upsurge in bid flu that resulted in the first fatal case in the US in January, as well as overseeing the US immunisation programmes.
There have been concerns about federal support for vaccination since Robert F Kennedy Jr took the role of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, particularly after a meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) was postponed shortly after he took over. It has since been rescheduled for 15th-16th April.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: "Dr Monarez brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems. As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future."
He also claimed that Americans "have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement."
Reports suggest that Monarez has beaten out some other candidates to lead the CDC, including Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo – who had been suggested by Weldon after his nomination was pulled – and Texas congressman Michael Burgess, who was also a former doctor.
She has worked for the federal government for nearly 20 years and was previously deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
One Senator on the Health, Education, Labour and Pensions (HELP) committee, Bill Cassidy, said in a social media post: "CDC needs reform. That's why I launched a Senate Republican CDC working group. I look forward to meeting Dr Susan Monarez and learning more about her vision for the agency."
