President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Susan Monarez to lead the CDC. (Getty Images | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Across her roughly two-decade career in D.C., she has served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the Department of Health and Human Services and in roles at the White House, including at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council.
She is the first CDC director to undergo the Senate confirmation process after a new law changed the requirement in 2023. Prior to her confirmation, Monarez had served as the acting director of the CDC since the beginning of this year.
But Monarez, who has a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology, was not Trump’s first pick to lead the public health agency, which is tasked with protecting Americans from public health threats.
KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives at Argentina’s Ministry of Health to meet with Health Minister Mario Lugones in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 26, 2025. (Reuters/Pedro Lazaro Fernandez)
The CDC has been hit with thousands of staff cuts and resignations and subject to changes in vaccine policy — notably Kennedy’s decision to remove the COVID-19 from the vaccine schedule for pregnant women and healthy children — in the last six months.
"I think vaccines save lives. I think that we need to continue to support the promotion of utilization of vaccines," Monarez said during her confirmation hearing.
Her confirmation also comes as Kennedy, in his budget request for the HHS, seeks a slash in funding to the CDC of nearly 50%, or from about $9.2 billion to $4.2 billion, for the upcoming fiscal year.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
But Kennedy made clear in an X post at the time of her nomination that he supports Monarez to take on the position.
"I handpicked Susan for this job because she is a longtime champion of MAHA values, and a caring, compassionate and brilliant microbiologist and a tech wizard who will reorient CDC toward public health and gold-standard science," he said. "I’m so grateful to President Trump for making this appointment."
And an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Once Dr. Monarez is confirmed, the Secretary looks forward to working with her to advance common-sense policies that will Make America Healthy Again."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-cdc-pick-confirmed-but-her-pro-vaccine-stance-may-clash-rfk-jr-s-agenda