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The Senate confirmed that President Donald Trump’s election will lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after his first choice struggled to get support.
Washington’s longtime fixture, Susan Monales has held leadership positions in many government public health roles, but has surpassed a different position from the growing number of candidates confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, waiting to be confirmed.
Monares was confirmed in votes of 51-47 parties.
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President Donald Trump has appointed Dr. Susan Monares to lead the CDC. (Getty Images | US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Throughout her nearly two years at DC, she served as deputy director of the Agency for Advanced Research and Projects in roles within the Department of Health and Human Services and in the White House, including science and technology policy and the National Security Council.
She is the first CDC director to undergo the Senate verification process after a new law changed requirements in 2023. Before her confirmation, Monales had been acting director of the CDC since the beginning of the year.
But in Monales microbiology and immunology, who holds a doctorate, it wasn’t Trump’s first choice to lead a public health agency.
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Trump hit Monares in March shortly after rescinding the nomination of former House Rep. David Weldon.
He praised Monares’ qualifications and accused the Americans of “losing confidence” at the CDC.
“Dr. Monares will work closely with Robert Kennedy JR, our great Department of Health and Human Services Secretary,” he told social media at the time. “Together, they will prioritize accountability, high standards and disease prevention to ultimately deal with the chronic disease epidemic and make America healthy again!”
But questions remain about how Monares and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may work together.
At a confirmation hearing last month, Senate Democrats burned Monales about whether she agreed to Kennedy’s position on vaccines. Kennedy has long been openly spoken about his skepticism regarding vaccines, particularly the Covid-19 vaccine.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives at the Argentina Ministry of Health to meet with Health Minister Mario Lugonz of Buenos Aas, Argentina on May 26, 2025 (Reuters/Pedro Lazaro Fernandez)
The CDC is struck by thousands of staff cuts and resignations, and is subject to changes in vaccine policies. In particular, Kennedy has been exposed to the decision to remove Covid-19 from the vaccine schedule for pregnant women and healthy children over the past six months.
“I think vaccines will save lives, and I think we need to continue to support the promotion of vaccine use,” Monales said at the confirmation hearing.
Her confirmation is that Kennedy is seeking a significant amount of funding for the CDC in his HHS budget request, or to raise funds from around $9.2 billion to $4.2 billion next year.
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However, Kennedy revealed in his X post at the time of his appointment that he supports Monares’ position.
“I handmade Susan for this job because she is a longtime champion of Maha values, a caring, caring, brilliant microbiologist and a high-tech wizard who reorients the CDC against the science of public health and gold standards,” he said. “I am very grateful to President Trump for this appointment.”
And a HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “When Dr. Monales is confirmed, the secretary looks forward to working with her to advance the common sense policy that will make America healthy again.”
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital, which covers the US Senate.
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