Susan Monarez confirmed as Trump's CDC director
[July 30, 2025]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Susan Monarez to be
President Donald Trump’s director of the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Monarez, 50, was named acting director in January and then tapped as the
nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David
Weldon.
The Atlanta-based federal agency, tasked with tracking diseases and
responding to health threats, has been hit by widespread staff cuts, key
resignations and heated controversy over long-standing CDC vaccine
policies upended by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
At her confirmation hearing, Monarez said she values vaccines and
rigorous scientific evidence, but she largely dodged questions about her
dealings with Kennedy, an antivaccine activist who has sought to
dismantle some of the agency’s previous protocols and decisions.
With the 51-47 vote in favor of Monarez, she becomes the first CDC
director to pass through Senate confirmation under a 2023 law.
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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)
 She holds a doctorate in
microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin, and
did postdoctoral research at Stanford University. Prior to the CDC,
Monarez was largely known for her government roles in health
technology and biosecurity.
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