Trump picks new CDC nominee, acting director Susan Monarez

The White House has picked Susan Monarez, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the new nominee to lead the agency.

Monarez’s selection comes after the White House abruptly withdrew the nomination of former Florida congressman Dave Weldon to lead the agency hours before his confirmation hearing was set to begin.  

Weldon’s past comments linking vaccines to autism and alleged lack of preparedness helped doom his nomination, sources said.  

President Trump announced the nomination in a post on Truth Social.

“As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future. Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement,” Trump said in the post.

Prior to joining CDC and being named acting director, Monarez served as the deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which is tasked with funding innovative, high-impact biomedical research, since January 2023.  

President Trump tapped her at the start of his term to be acting head of the CDC, breaking precedent that the acting director come from within the agency. 

This is the first time a CDC director will need to be confirmed by the Senate, following bipartisan legislation signed by President Biden.  

The expected nomination was first reported by CBS.