Trump delays nomination of new CDC director
The White House plans to delay naming a candidate to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency that has been rocked by a series of high-level departures and has had three different heads since President Trump returned to the White House, according to people familiar with the situation.
Federal law provides a 210-day deadline for individuals who fill Senate-confirmed positions in an acting capacity. The agency officially became leaderless after Mr. Trump failed to name a permanent director as of midnight Wednesday.
The administration faces the daunting challenge of finding a candidate who will embrace Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda while avoiding his unpopular stance on vaccines.
The White House has not yet found anyone who fits the Trump administration’s mission and can also win Senate confirmation, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal decisions.
The government has a short list of several candidates, some of whom are staunch pro-vaccine candidates. The search is being led by Chris Klomp – who heads the Center for Medicare and oversees operations at the Department of Health and Human Services – and his deputy, John Brooks.
The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who heads the National Institutes of Health and leads the CDC in an acting capacity, “will continue to oversee the CDC by performing the delegable duties of the CDC director” until the agency has a permanent director.
In a phone call with CDC officials on Wednesday, a recording of which was obtained by The New York Times, Dr. Bhattacharya said he intends to appoint new heads for the agency’s institutes to replace those who were sacked or resigned last year. He also pledged to help strengthen the organization so that it is “in a solid, secure place and ready to get the job done without the major turmoil of the last year.”
The CDC has had a turbulent year under Mr. Trump and Mr. Kennedy. Hundreds of employees have been laid off, programs have been halted and a gunman fixated on the coronavirus vaccine fired a volley of bullets at the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta last summer, killing a police officer.
The CDC is also facing lawsuits. Last week, a federal judge put the agency’s revised and shorter vaccination schedule for children on hold. In the case, brought by six medical organizations, the judge ruled that Mr. Kennedy and his advisers had made “arbitrary and capricious” changes to the schedule that were not supported by scientific evidence. The administration has said it will appeal the decision.
During the second Trump administration, the agency was without a permanent leader for nearly a month. Susan Monarez, the current permanent director, was confirmed by the Senate in July. About a month later, Mr. Kennedy fired her over a dispute over vaccination policy and her refusal to accept the recommendations of his hand-picked panel of vaccination advisers.
The CDC director must be confirmed by the Senate, a requirement that lawmakers added in 2022.
Last March, the White House selected its first candidate to lead the agency, Dr. Dave Weldon, a Republican and former congressman, back when it became clear that his anti-vaccination views would not gain traction in the Senate.
Also the nomination of Dr. Casey Means, the White House nominee for surgeon general, has stalled as two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, have raised concerns about her statements on vaccines.
