Trump picks acting CDC director to lead agency
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Susan Monarez. Source: CDC
President Trump on Monday nominated Susan Monarez, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to be the agency's full-time leader.
Why it matters: Monarez would be the first CDC director-designate to face Senate confirmation under a law Congress passed in 2023.
- Her selection comes after the White House abruptly withdrew the nomination of Dave Weldon earlier this month after multiple GOP senators expressed concerns.
Trump confirmed the pick on Truth Social on Monday afternoon.
- "America has lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement. Dr. Monarez will work closely with our GREAT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr.," he wrote.
- "Together they will prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic," he wrote.
Background: Monarez served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H — an agency that focuses on breakthrough cures and technology and is modeled on the Pentagon's research arm.
- She was involved in initiatives such as the ethical use of artificial intelligence in health care, novel approaches to addressing affordability and accessibility and expanding access to behavioral health interventions and ending the opioid epidemic.
- She also served in the White House in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and on the National Security Council.
- She completed her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
What to watch: If confirmed, Monarez would take the helm of the public agency at a time when public health officials are still working on a response to the bird flu and outbreaks of measles.
- She will likely face scrutiny about the agency's response to date around both, as well as a decision to postpone a key advisory vaccine advisory committee. The CDC also temporarily paused publication of its flagship Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a weekly journal of public health research.
