Over the course of a year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen a traumatic shooting, abrupt leadership changes and a shattering of its image as a globally respected public health agency.
So by the time the Trump administration started looking for a new director, there was one requirement that topped the search criteria.
“We just need someone who’s not crazy,” a White House official told CNN amid the lengthy hunt for a nominee that finally culminated with Trump tapping Erica Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general and retired US Coast Guard officer, for the job in April.
On Wednesday, Schwartz — President Donald Trump’s third pick to lead the CDC — appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to face confirmation. She testifies alongside Sean Kaufman, the president’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response.
Schwartz’s selection was aimed at bringing stability to the agency after near-constant upheaval that has decimated morale and deeply shaken Americans’ faith in the administration’s health agenda, senior health officials and others familiar with the matter told CNN at the time.
