Trump picks new nominee for CDC director
Key takeaways:
- Susan Monarez, PhD, is currently the CDC’s acting director.
- For the first time ever, the position of CDC director requires Senate confirmation.
President Donald J. Trump has nominated Susan Monarez, PhD, to be the next director of the CDC.
Monarez takes the place of David Weldon, MD, whose nomination was withdrawn by the White House earlier this month, just hours before he was set to appear before a Senate committee.
“I am proud to announce that Dr. Susan Monarez is my Nominee to serve as the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” Trump shared in a post on Truth Social. “Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience championing innovation, transparency, and strong public health systems.”
Monarez, currently the CDC’s acting director since Jan. 23, previously served as the agency’s principal deputy director and first assistant to the director.
“I think that Susan Monarez is well qualified, has infectious disease expertise and has held important positions in the federal government that pertain to infectious disease management and response,” Amesh A. Adalja, MD, FACP, FACEP, FIDSA, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Healio. “I think that, given some of the other nominees in the administration, this is the best possible result.”
Prior to her time at the agency, Monarez worked as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health beginning in 2023. She also served at the White House in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and on the National Security Council, where she led efforts to enhance biomedical innovation capabilities, such as combating antimicrobial resistance, ensuring personal health data privacy, and improving pandemic preparedness, according to the CDC.
Monarez also previously held leadership roles at the Department of Homeland Security.
“As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future,” Trump said in his post. “Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement.”
Trump selected Weldon to be the next CDC director in December, but the post requires Senate confirmation for the first time. Weldon told reporters that his nomination was pulled because there were not enough votes to confirm him. Weldon’s history of unscientific views about the safety of vaccines was cited by at least one senator as a potential reason not to support his nomination
Monarez’s nomination will be reviewed by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is controlled with a one-seat majority by Republicans. She will need only a simple majority of yea votes to advance to the Senate for a full vote.
“I don’t know her personally, but her CV is impressive, and she seems well qualified for the job,” Healio | Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member Carlos del Rio, MD, H. Cliff Sauls Distinguished Professor of Medicine and department of medicine chair at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, told Healio. “I look forward to working with her.”
References:
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). March 24, 2025. Truth Social.
- CDC. Acting director, first assistant to the director, principal deputy director: Staff bio.
- https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/director.html. Posted Jan. 24, 2025. Accessed March 25, 2025.
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Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). March 24, 2025. Truth Social.