A Senate committee on July 9 voted to advance the nomination of Susan Monarez to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Senators on the Senate Health Committee in a 12–11 vote advanced the nomination to the full upper chamber. A simple majority was required.
“The United States needs a CDC director who makes decisions rooted in science. A leader who will work to reform the agency and work to restore public trust in health institutions. With decades in proven experience as a public health official, Dr. Monarez is ready to take on this challenge,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the chairman of the panel.
CDC directors did not need to be confirmed by the Senate in the past, but a provision in a funding bill mandated Senate confirmation, starting in January.
“As CDC refocuses its efforts specifically on communicable diseases to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases and emerging threats, we’ll be laser-focused on that area, but we will continue, and I will continue, to make sure that we’re supporting the secretary’s vision of overall Making America Healthy Again,” she said at the time.
Monarez also declined to outline decisions Kennedy has made with which she disagrees, prompting consternation from some Democrat senators.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the top minority member on the committee, said he was voting against Trump’s nominee because Monarez “has done nothing to stand in the way” of Trump administration actions such as cuts to public health funding that Sanders said served to “undermine the vital mission of the CDC, jeopardizing the health, safety, and wellbeing of millions of people, both at home and abroad.”
The GOP controls the Senate, giving the party more seats on each committee.
Monarez is the first CDC director since 1953 not to hold a medical degree. She holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology.
Her past work includes being a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and the deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Monarez told senators in June that “good public health saves lives.” She said that she has experience utilizing artificial intelligence, which she views as a tool to help the CDC modernize and be more efficient. She said that AI has to be monitored to make sure it is being used properly.
Monarez also told senators that “vaccines absolutely save lives, and if I’m confirmed as CDC director, I commit to making sure that we continue to prioritize vaccine availability.”
During her confirmation hearing, Monarez also said that she looked forward to engaging in discussions with Kennedy.
“He has said he values and prioritizes independent thinking to drive decision making,” she said. “I am an independent thinker, and I am a scientist. And I will welcome the opportunity to share my opinions based on science and evidence with him as he makes some of these very difficult decisions.”
