Monarez during her confirmation hearing at Senate HELP. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images
CDC director nominee Susan Monarez tried not to contradict Trump administration policies, while still touting her credentials as a scientist, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate HELP Committee on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Monarez is a career government researcher who's regarded as a more mainstream nominee than President Trump's first pick, Dave Weldon, whose nomination was pulled amid concern from senators about his experience and vaccine views.
- She's the first CDC director-designate to face Senate confirmation under a law Congress passed in 2023.
Driving the news: Monarez tried to show her commitment to more established science while also not contradicting some of the more controversial views of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- "I have not seen a causal link between vaccines and autism," she said under questioning from Sen. Bernie Sanders, noting that "vaccines save lives."
- But when asked repeatedly by Democratic Sens. Andy Kim and Maggie Hassan, she declined to directly give an example of an area where she disagreed with Kennedy.
- "The secretary is doing the important work of leading a complex agency," she told Kim.
Between the lines: The hearing coincided with the first meeting of Kennedy's new appointees to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, who'll make recommendations on RSV and flu shots Wednesday and Thursday.
- HELP Chair Bill Cassidy, who cast a pivotal vote to confirm Kennedy, had called for today's ACIP meeting to be delayed, citing concerns with the new members.
- On Wednesday, he called on Monarez to make the panel more balanced.
What they're saying: "Going forward, if the ACIP hearing today is being used to sow distrust, I would ask as you go forward that you would make sure that there really was a balanced perspective, and yes, someone can speak as a critic, but there should be someone who is reviewing the overwhelming evidence of the safety of vaccines," Cassidy said.
- "Absolutely, this group, this ACIP, has a very vital role to play, and it must make sure that it is using science and evidence to drive that decision-making," Monarez responded, without criticizing the new members or the firings of the old ones.
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski pressed Monarez on filling the remaining open slots on the panel, and asked whether the appointees will support "evidence-based medicine."
- Monarez avoided discussing specifics about the makeup of the panel while saying that members should have "a depth and a breadth of technical experience."
The bottom line: The hearing had fewer fireworks than Kennedy's recent appearances before the committee. Several GOP senators spoke as if Monarez's confirmation was assumed.
- But she will have to keep treading a fine line in the job.
