Who’s in charge? CDC’s leadership ‘crisis’ apparent amid new COVID-19 vaccine guidance
June 5, 2025
The CDC, a $9.2 billion-a-year agency tasked with reviewing life-saving vaccines, monitoring diseases and watching for budding threats to Americans’ health, is without a clear leader. The leadership vacuum at a foremost federal public health agency has existed for months, after President Donald Trump suddenly yanked his first pick for CDC director in March. A hearing for his new nominee — the agency’s former acting director Susan Monarez — has not yet been scheduled because she has not submitted all the paperwork necessary to proceed, according to a spokesman for Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who will oversee the nomination.
