At a tense confirmation hearing Wednesday, senators tried to find out if Erica Schwartz would say no to her boss if she's installed as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They often were not satisfied with her answers. President Trump's nominee repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether she'd resist pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose vaccine positions have alarmed many in and out of public health. Senate Health Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, a Republican, pressed Schwartz on whether she'd defy Kennedy if asked to take actions unsupported by science, Politico reports.
Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general, stuck to a narrow line: Kennedy "absolutely will allow me to be the CDC director," she said, insisting that she would "follow the science wherever it leads." Unconvinced, Cassidy warned that the CDC needs a leader willing to "stand up to crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization." She repeated that she didn't believe Kennedy or Trump would ask her to do anything that would damage public health or violate the law, per the New York Times. Senators frequently invoked Susan Monarez, the previous CDC director who said Kennedy forced her out of the post after she refused to endorse his preferred vaccine schedule.
To be confirmed, Schwartz may have to win over every Republican on the panel—including Cassidy. At one point Wednesday, he confronted the nominee about her opposition to COVID vaccine mandates and the use of the hepatitis B vaccine in newborns. "Why would you repeat those damn lies?" Cassidy asked in a raised voice. Schwartz answered: "I believe in vaccines. I believe in the dose of hepatitis B." Cassidy, who cast the deciding vote in committee for Kennedy's confirmation, said he worries that public health could be "taken over by people who are ideologically inclined."
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