President Donald Trump nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday, his third nominee for the post. Trump announced the nomination in a social media post, calling Schwartz "a STAR," and announced nominations for three other positions at the agency.

"These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC," Trump wrote. Schwartz is a former public health official and a board-certified physician in preventive medicine who has publicly supported vaccination and followed evidence-based medicine. She served as Deputy Surgeon General during Trump's first administration and was involved in the federal rollout of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.

Schwartz spent much of her career as a Navy officer and held the role of Chief Medical Officer with the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a retired rear admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Schwartz holds a medical degree from Brown University, a master's degree in public health, and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

In a video posted online for National Public Health Week, Schwartz described her time as a military physician. "My job was all about readiness; it was all about public health: prevention, vaccines, early detection. If we get that right, we change lives before illness ever begins," she said.

The nomination follows the departure of Susan Monarez, Trump's second nominee, who was confirmed by the Senate and served as CDC director for 29 days. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed Monarez from the position after she refused to approve vaccine policy crafted by a panel of advisors selected by him. Trump's first nominee, former Florida congressman Dave Weldon, was dropped after his anti-vaccine views made him a nonstarter in the Senate.

Some candidates for the position sought promises of autonomy to hire and fire staff and to keep science insulated from political influence, but they were not selected. Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer at the CDC, questioned whether conditions at the agency had changed. "We saw what happened with Susan. She couldn't make staffing or policy decisions. What has changed? Kennedy hasn't changed," Houry said.