Schwartz confirmed as CDC director after bungling confirmation hearing

施瓦茨在搞砸提名听证会后仍获确认出任疾控中心主任

In a 51–44 vote Wednesday, the US Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, despite failing miserably to convince senators last month that she could stand up to anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 周三，美国参议院以 51 票对 44 票的结果，确认埃里卡·施瓦茨（Erica Schwartz）出任美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）主任。尽管在上个月的听证会上，她未能成功说服参议员们相信她有能力抵制反疫苗立场的卫生部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪（Robert F. Kennedy Jr.）。

The confirmation ends a near yearlong vacancy for the position since Kennedy fired the previous CDC director, Susan Monarez, last August. Monarez was ousted after she refused to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations from a panel of Kennedy’s hand-selected advisors, who hold similar anti-vaccine views to his own. 此次确认结束了该职位近一年的空缺状态。自去年 8 月肯尼迪解雇前 CDC 主任苏珊·莫纳雷斯（Susan Monarez）以来，该职位一直悬而未决。莫纳雷斯被解职的原因是她拒绝为肯尼迪亲手挑选的顾问小组所提出的疫苗建议背书，而这些顾问持有与肯尼迪相同的反疫苗观点。

Schwartz is highly qualified for the role, coming to the CDC with a medical degree, a master’s degree in public health, and a law degree. She previously had a long stint as a Navy officer and held leadership roles including chief medical officer for the US Coast Guard and deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration. 施瓦茨拥有医学学位、公共卫生硕士学位和法律学位，具备担任该职位的极高资质。她此前曾长期担任海军军官，并担任过包括美国海岸警卫队首席医疗官和特朗普第一任期内的副卫生局长在内的领导职务。

Notably, she has been a public advocate for vaccines and outbreak preparedness. As such, outside health experts were surprised by her selection and cautiously optimistic about her taking up the role. While Kennedy’s close anti-vaccine ally, Aaron Siri, blasted her nomination over her support for vaccines, those in the health community held out hope that Schwartz could stabilize and restore the flagging agency, demoralized and hampered by harsh staff reductions, budget cuts, and relentless scorn from Kennedy and his political appointees. 值得注意的是，她一直公开倡导疫苗接种和疫情防范。因此，外部卫生专家对她的入选感到惊讶，并对她上任持谨慎乐观态度。尽管肯尼迪的亲密反疫苗盟友亚伦·西里（Aaron Siri）因她支持疫苗而抨击她的提名，但卫生界人士仍寄希望于施瓦茨能够稳定并恢复这个陷入困境的机构——该机构目前因大规模裁员、预算削减以及肯尼迪及其政治任命官员的无情蔑视而士气低落、举步维艰。

“Really?” Those hopes were dashed during Schwartz’s confirmation hearing last month when she repeatedly failed to answer questions directly and say with conviction that she would push back on Kennedy’s anti-vaccine and anti-science agendas. “真的吗？”这些希望在上个月施瓦茨的确认听证会上破灭了。当时，她多次未能直接回答问题，也未能坚定地表示她会抵制肯尼迪的反疫苗和反科学议程。

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Schwartz’s testimony came when senators repeatedly asked her what she would do if (or when) she’s put in the same position as Monarez. Schwartz responded as if it hadn’t happened and would never happen. “I do not believe that the president or the secretary would ever do what you just mentioned,” she told Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at one point, prompting him to reply: “Really?” 施瓦茨证词中最令人不安的部分，或许在于当参议员们反复询问她如果（或当）她处于与莫纳雷斯相同的境地时会怎么做时，她的回答仿佛那件事从未发生过，也永远不会发生。她曾对参议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）说：“我不相信总统或部长会做出你刚才提到的那种事。”这引得桑德斯反问：“真的吗？”

While senators expressed their disappointment with her responses, health experts dropped their endorsements. Shortly after the hearing, the National Public Health Coalition, a nonprofit founded by former federal health workers, released a statement opposing her confirmation. “The public and Congress deserve a CDC Director who will follow the law, defend science, protect public health workers, and rebuild the systems that keep communities safe,” the organization said. “Based on what we saw during the Senate HELP Committee hearing on July 15, 2026, NPHC cannot support Dr. Schwartz’s nomination.” 在参议员们对她的回答表示失望的同时，卫生专家们也撤回了对她的支持。听证会后不久，由前联邦卫生工作者创立的非营利组织“国家公共卫生联盟”（NPHC）发表声明，反对确认她的任命。该组织表示：“公众和国会理应拥有一位能够遵守法律、捍卫科学、保护公共卫生工作者并重建保障社区安全系统的 CDC 主任。基于我们在 2026 年 7 月 15 日参议院卫生、教育、劳工与养老金委员会（HELP）听证会上所见，NPHC 无法支持施瓦茨博士的提名。”

Critical to Schwartz’s confirmation was support from self-proclaimed vaccine advocate Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also cast a critical vote to confirm Kennedy as health secretary. While Cassidy called Schwartz’s performance in the confirmation hearing “disappointing,” he later said he had been reassured. He said he had spoken with her more after the hearing as well as with her former colleagues. “I’m confident that she knows what she is doing,” he said, according to Stat News. 施瓦茨获得确认的关键在于自称疫苗倡导者的参议员比尔·卡西迪（Bill Cassidy，共和党，路易斯安那州）的支持，他此前也曾投下关键一票确认肯尼迪出任卫生部长。尽管卡西迪称施瓦茨在听证会上的表现“令人失望”，但他后来表示自己已感到放心。据 Stat News 报道，他说自己在听证会后与她以及她的前同事进行了更多交流，“我相信她知道自己在做什么。”