If confirmed, Susan Monarez will have her work cut out for her, facing a measles outbreak that has already killed two people—the first measles-related deaths in the U.S. since 2015.
President Donald Trump has nominated Susan Monarez, currently acting as the agency’s director, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a post on the social media platform Truth Social.
“Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement,” Trump wrote. Monarez, “an incredible mother and dedicated public servant,” will take charge of the agency and “prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic.”
Monarez has had a long career in the government. She previously served as the deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health during the Biden administration and also worked in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House.
Monarez also previously held posts in the National Security Council and Department of Homeland Security. She assumed the role of acting CDC director in January.
Monarez’s nomination comes after the Trump administration earlier this month turned its back on Dave Weldon, the President’s prior pick as CDC director. As per reporting from Axios, the withdrawal was likely related to Weldon’s vaccine criticism. Last week, rumors swirled that Trump would name former U.S. Representative Michael Burgess to replace Weldon. Monarez’s name was not raised in relation to the role.
If confirmed by the Senate, Monarez will be the first CDC head since 1953 to not have a medical degree, instead holding a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin. She will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine critic. In the first few days of his leadership, the CDC experienced a high-level disruption with the postponement of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting, which was meant to update immunization requirements for some 10 infectious diseases. The meeting has since been rescheduled for April.
Earlier this month, news also broke that Trump was considering removing a CDC division involved in HIV prevention and transferring its ambit to another unit under the Department of Health and Human Services. While not yet final, this move would mean a potential $1.3-billion budget cut to the CDC.
Previous reporting has indicated that Monarez has conventional pro-vaccine stances, and if she does take the CDC’s reins, she will have her work cut out for her. Currently, the U.S. is in the midst of a measles outbreak that has spread through hundreds of people and has already killed two—one child and one adult, both unvaccinated. The last measles-related deaths in the U.S. happened in 2015.
Bird flu is also an emerging problem in the U.S., with 70 confirmed cases nationwide, as of the CDC’s latest tally. The agency currently estimates the disease’s public health risk to humans to be low and Monarez, if confirmed, will be tasked with keeping it that way.
