"The vote for Erica Schwartz was 51-44, with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as the only Democrat to vote yes with all Republicans."

"The Senate on Wednesday voted mainly along party lines to confirm Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vote ends months of leadership uncertainty at the nation’s premier public health agency but leaves unresolved the central question that dominated her confirmation process: Will she preserve the agency’s scientific independence under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?

The vote was 51-44, with Sen. Tim Kaine (Virginia) as the only Democrat to vote yes with all Republicans.

Schwartz, a physician and retired Navy rear admiral who served as deputy U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term, will take over as the CDC’s permanent director nearly a year after Trump fired Susan Monarez. Monarez refused to resign amid pressure by Kennedy to change vaccine policy."

Lena H. Sun reports for the Washington Post August 5, 2026. [2]