The Senate on July 29 in a party-line vote confirmed Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Fifty-one Republicans voted to confirm Monarez, while 47 Democrats or nominal independents who caucus with the Democrats voted in opposition. Two GOP senators missed the vote.
The CDC is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is headed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Dr. Monarez will lead CDC’s efforts to prevent disease and respond to domestic and global health threats, advancing Secretary Kennedy’s mission to Make America Healthy Again,” the CDC said in a statement.
Monarez is now the first Senate-confirmed CDC director, under a funding bill signed in 2023 that took effect this year. The longtime government employee, who has worked in various roles in HHS and the Department of Homeland Security, is the first CDC director since 1953 to not hold a medical degree. She holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology.
Monarez told senators during her confirmation hearing that she would refocus the agency to tackle infectious diseases.
She said she would make sure that CDC does everything it can “to be able to prevent, detect, and respond to … emerging infectious disease threats both [in the United States] and abroad.”
Kennedy has said he handpicked Monarez, describing her as a “longtime champion of [Make America Healthy Again] values.”
President Donald Trump, who has said Monarez is “an incredible mother and dedicated public servant,” nominated her after withdrawing his first CDC director nominee, Dr. Dave Weldon, a former congressman. Weldon’s nomination was withdrawn because of opposition not only from Democrats, but also from some Republicans over his investigating the safety of vaccines.
“Vaccines absolutely save lives, and if I’m confirmed as CDC director, I commit to making sure that we continue to prioritize vaccine availability,” Monarez told senators in June.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said on X after that hearing that Monarez “understands the importance of vaccines and global health security preparedness” and that she was an excellent choice to lead the CDC.
Democrats have said they opposed Monarez because she declined to say on which points she disagrees with Kennedy.
“I am very concerned that a CDC nominee who says she wants to be independent and will apply science is so unwilling to speak publicly about scientific evidence that contradicts the secretary,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said.
Monarez said Kennedy “has said he values and prioritizes independent thinking and using science to drive decision-making.”
“I am an independent thinker, and I am a scientist,” she said. “And I will welcome the opportunity to share my opinions based on science and evidence with him as he makes some of these very difficult decisions.”