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Senate Confirms Susan Monarez as CDC Director in Party-Line Vote

Her confirmation ushers in leadership for an agency strained by sweeping budget cuts, workforce losses.

FILE - Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arrives to testify before the Senate HELP Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
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Susan Monarez, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: Susan Monarez, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Monarez is a health scientist with a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology who previously served as the Deputy Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Overview

  • The Senate approved Monarez’s nomination 51–47 along party lines, making her the first CDC director to require Senate confirmation under a 2023 amendment to the Public Health Service Act.
  • Monarez holds a PhD in microbiology and immunology and is the first non-physician to head the CDC since 1953 after senior roles at ARPA-H, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council.
  • She inherits an agency facing White House proposals to cut nearly $3.6 billion from its budget and an HHS-enforced layoff plan that eliminated 2,400 CDC positions.
  • HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and installed vaccine-skeptical appointees, upending established immunization guidance.
  • Monarez steps into her permanent role as the U.S. grapples with its worst measles outbreak since 2000 and mounting bird flu cases, demanding a swift public health response.