US Senate Confirms Trump Nominee, Susan Monarez as CDC Director

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Susan Monarez as President Donald Trump’s director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Monarez, 50, who was named acting director in January and then tapped as the nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David Weldon, is said to value vaccines and rigorous scientific evidence.

Monarez, a microbiologist and immunologist by training, served as CDC’s acting director from January through March this year, stepping down as required when Trump chose her for the director role. Previously, she was deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, a governmental agency that funds cutting-edge biomedical and health research.

The CDC and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The CDC, tasked with tracking diseases and responding to health threats, has been hit by widespread staff cuts, key resignations, and heated controversy over long-standing CDC vaccine policies strongly opposed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

At her confirmation hearing, Monarez said she values vaccines, but largely dodged questions about her dealings with Kennedy, an antivaccine activist who has sought to dismantle some of the agency’s previous protocols and decisions.

Monarez’s CDC Challenge

With the 51-47 vote in favor of Monarez, she becomes the first CDC director to pass through Senate confirmation under a 2023 law. She also becomes the first to serve in the role without a medical degree in more than 70 years.

She holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin, and did postdoctoral research at Stanford University. Prior to the CDC, Monarez was largely known for her government roles in health technology and biosecurity.

President Trump has proposed slashing CDC’s funding for fiscal year 2026 which means Monarez walks into a CDC starved of funding.

In a June confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, Monarez said restoring trust in the CDC was one of her top priorities. “I will rebuild credibility by making CDC leadership more public-facing and accountable…[and] ensure all recommendations are backed by publicly available, gold-standard science,” she said.

Monarez also listed modernizing public health infrastructure and responding rapidly to disease outbreaks as additional priorities.

“We know the next outbreak is not a matter of if, but when,” she said,

“I will implement tested, evidence-informed predefined protocols to avoid confusion and delays, and strengthen risk communication so the public receives timely, consistent guidance based on facts, not fear, These priorities support the President’s and the Secretary’s vision of a healthier America.” She concluded.

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