The Brief The Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as the 22nd director of the CDC in a 51-44 vote. Schwartz was confirmed in a 51-44 vote and becomes the 22nd leader of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats, and the agency's first confirmed director in nearly a year. She served as the Coast Guard's chief of preventive medicine and chief of health services before becoming chief medical officer in 2015. Erica Schwartz attends her nomination hearing to become Director Of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Schwartz is the third nominee put forward by the Trump administration for the CDC's top post in the past 18 months.