After withdrawing his first nominee to guide the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), President Trump selected Susan Monarez, a longtime federal worker and present performing CDC director, as his new choose.
Monarez has labored within the federal authorities for almost 20 years throughout a number of workplaces however had not labored for the CDC previous to Trump tapping her because the company’s performing head shortly after starting his second time period.
The Trump administration withdrew the nomination of former Florida Rep. David Weldon (R) to move the CDC earlier this month, with the previous lawmaker saying the rationale was the shortage of enough assist amongst Republicans to safe his affirmation.
Monarez has served as performing CDC director since Jan. 23, 2025. Previous to this, she served as deputy director on the Superior Analysis Initiatives Company for Well being (ARPA-H). Earlier than coming into authorities work, she was a science and know-how coverage fellow with the American Affiliation for the Development of Science.
Her elevation to the performing CDC director position was uncommon attributable to her being an outsider to the company. If she is confirmed, she would even be the primary CDC director in many years to not be an M.D.
Monarez would even be the primary CDC director confirmed by the Senate, a brand new requirement for the place handed by Congress in 2022.
On his Reality Social account, Trump wrote Monday, “I am proud to announce that Dr. Susan Monarez is my Nominee to serve as the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems.”
“As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future,” wrote Trump, including that Monarez would work intently with Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Monarez has reportedly demonstrated a willingness to adjust to controversial government orders from the Trump White Home in her two months as performing CDC director. The New York Instances reported, citing folks with information of occasions, that Monarez didn’t resist Trump’s order to take down CDC internet pages containing phrases like “LGBTQ” and “transgender” and didn’t search to protect essential information.
Georges Benjamin, government director of the American Public Well being Affiliation, spoke favorably of Monarez to the Instances.
“She has a strong reputation as a solid researcher and expert in infectious diseases,” mentioned Benjamin. “I believe the public health community can work with her in a positive manner.”
Monarez started her work for the federal authorities on the Biomedical Superior Analysis and Growth Authority in 2006. Since then, she has additionally served in roles on the White Home within the Workplace of Science and Know-how Coverage, the Nationwide Safety Council and the Division of Homeland Safety.
Monarez isn’t any stranger to talking publicly about her work, having often spoken with Beltway information shops about her work at ARPA-H, together with The Hill, although her former roles haven’t been public-facing.
Her views on infectious illness points like vaccinations and dealing with viral outbreaks haven’t been publicized, nonetheless. Trump’s earlier CDC nominee, Weldon, had publicly expressed vaccine skepticism, which drew considerations from some Republican senators.
Monarez’s nomination comes amid a extreme measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico during which 370 instances have been confirmed as of Tuesday.
At prior public engagements, she has continuously spoken in assist of integrating technological improvements, equivalent to synthetic intelligence (AI), into the well being care sector.
In a 2023 dialog with The Hill’s former Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack, Monarez mentioned, “AI — if used appropriately in a disciplined way, in a way where there is an actual human check and balance on anything that’s coming through a predictive or a generative model — will completely transform health care.”
In that very same dialog, Monarez spoke favorably of integrating AI into well being care settings in a means that would scale back administrative burdens, equivalent to quite a few clinic visits earlier than a affected person lastly receives a prognosis.
She has additionally spoken quite a few occasions about her perception that well being care improvements must be equitably accessible. When discussing improvements that ARPA-H was finding out, Monarez mentioned the company didn’t need the “amazing technology” to solely go to individuals who stay within the “right zip code, they have the right private health insurance, they can pay out of pocket.”
“That is not where we want to place our resources,” mentioned Monarez on the time.
Talking at a Politico occasion final yr, Monarez mentioned, “What keeps me up at night is if a digital capability is being developed … [but] you are in a position where only well-financed health care systems are able to afford this.”
She additionally spoke in assist of “inclusive” and “equitable” practices when discussing the event of a scientific trial community that may readily react to a pandemic equivalent to COVID-19.
Monarez mentioned ARPA-H sought to make sure a scientific trial community that’s “equitable, that it’s accessible that that it isn’t just skewed towards a demographic or a geographic or a patient population, but we actually have an inclusive clinical trial network.”
