President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated University of Maryland Law School alumni Erica Schwartz to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Schwartz has a medical degree from Brown University and a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University. And, according to the president’s social media post, she’s “incredibly talented.” The former rear admiral is board-certified in preventive medicine. She also has local ties, having earned a law degree from the University of Maryland and from her time working at the Naval Medical Clinic in Annapolis, according to her U.S. Coast Guard biography.

“She is a STAR!” Trump wrote in a social media post announcing her nomination.

Early in her career, before she transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard in 2005, Schwartz served as preventive medicine department head at the Naval Medical Clinic. She would eventually serve as chief medical officer of the Coast Guard from 2015 to 2019 before being tapped as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term in the Oval Office.

Schwartz holds multiple academic credentials, including medical and law degrees. She has spent most of her career in the military, including the supervisory role at the Coast Guard. There she oversaw the organization’s system of 41 clinics and 150 sick bays.

If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz would work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC.

“I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity at the [CDC],” Kennedy wrote in a social media post on her nomination.

Thank you, President Trump, for nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to serve as CDC Director. I congratulate Dr. Schwartz and the new CDC leadership team. I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity at the @CDCgov so we can return it to… https://t.co/xTN1mUhVOT

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) April 16, 2026

Trump’s pick to head the CDC, Erica Schwartz, would likely be a disaster.

Schwartz led nationwide Covid-19 vaccine deployment and her long track record of directly issuing rights-crushing civilian and military vaccine mandates, including mandating injection of smallpox,…

— Aaron Siri (@AaronSiriSG) April 16, 2026

However, Aaron Siri, a lawyer known for working with Kennedy, criticized Schwartz in a post, saying she “would likely be a disaster.”

The CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats, has experienced upheaval during Trump’s second term, with a succession of mostly temporary leaders. In Schwartz, however, Trump has selected perhaps his strongest candidate to take over the position, given her resume and expertise.

Trump first attempted to nominate Florida Congressman David Weldon for CDC director, but his Senate confirmation hearing in March 2025 was canceled an hour before it was set to begin. Weldon, who sporadically practiced medicine while running political campaigns and additionally questioned the safety of vaccines, said he was told not enough senators were willing to support his nomination. Trump then nominated microbiologist and public health official Susan Monarez, who was confirmed in July but fired a month later.

Since then, the agency has been led by a series of acting directors, including Jay Bhattacharya, who also serves as director of the National Institutes of Health. He was a vocal critic of lockdowns and mask mandates imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schwartz has worked in medicine throughout her career and has experience responding to public health emergencies, serving in a leadership role on the Ebola response and deploying as a medical unit leader during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

In his Thursday post, Trump also announced the nominations of Sean Slovenski as CDC deputy director and chief operating officer, Jennifer Shuford as deputy director and chief medical officer and Dr. Sara Brenner as senior counselor for public health at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Schwartz will first appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Have a news tip? Contact Bridget Byrne at bbyrne@baltsun.com.