After withdrawing his first nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), President Trump chose Susan Monarez, a longtime federal employee and current acting CDC director, as his new pick.
Monarez has worked in the federal government for nearly 20 years across multiple offices but had not worked for the CDC prior to Trump tapping her as the agency’s acting head shortly after beginning his second term.
The Trump administration withdrew the nomination of former Florida Rep. David Weldon (R) to head the CDC earlier this month, with the former lawmaker saying the reason was the lack of sufficient support among Republicans to secure his confirmation.
Monarez has served as acting CDC director since Jan. 23, 2025. Prior to this, she served as deputy director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Before entering government work, she was a science and technology policy fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Her elevation to the acting CDC director role was unusual due to her being an outsider to the agency. If she is confirmed, she would also be the first CDC director in decades to not be an M.D.
Monarez would also be the first CDC director confirmed by the Senate, a new requirement for the position passed by Congress in 2022.
On his Truth Social account, Trump wrote Monday, “I am proud to announce that Dr. Susan Monarez is my Nominee to serve as the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems.”
“As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future,” wrote Trump, adding that Monarez would work closely with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Monarez has reportedly demonstrated a willingness to comply with controversial executive orders from the Trump White House in her two months as acting CDC director. The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of events, that Monarez did not resist Trump’s order to take down CDC web pages containing terms like “LGBTQ” and “transgender” and did not seek to preserve important data.
Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, spoke favorably of Monarez to the Times.
“She has a strong reputation as a solid researcher and expert in infectious diseases,” said Benjamin. “I believe the public health community can work with her in a positive manner.”
Monarez began her work for the federal government at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in 2006. Since then, she has also served in roles at the White House in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security.
Monarez is no stranger to speaking publicly about her work, having regularly spoken with Beltway news outlets about her work at ARPA-H, including The Hill, though her former roles have not been public-facing.
Her views on infectious disease issues like vaccinations and handling viral outbreaks have not been publicized, however. Trump’s previous CDC nominee, Weldon, had publicly expressed vaccine skepticism, which drew concerns from some Republican senators.
Monarez’s nomination comes amid a severe measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico in which 370 cases have been confirmed as of Tuesday.
At prior public engagements, she has frequently spoken in support of integrating technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI), into the health care sector.
In a 2023 conversation with The Hill’s former Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack, Monarez said, “AI — if used appropriately in a disciplined way, in a way where there is an actual human check and balance on anything that’s coming through a predictive or a generative model — will completely transform health care.”
In that same conversation, Monarez spoke favorably of integrating AI into health care settings in a way that would reduce administrative burdens, such as numerous clinic visits before a patient finally receives a diagnosis.
She has also spoken numerous times about her belief that health care innovations should be equitably accessible. When discussing innovations that ARPA-H was studying, Monarez said the agency did not want the “amazing technology” to only go to people who live in the “right zip code, they have the right private health insurance, they can pay out of pocket.”
“That is not where we want to place our resources,” said Monarez at the time.
Speaking at a Politico event last year, Monarez said, “What keeps me up at night is if a digital capability is being developed … [but] you are in a position where only well-financed health care systems are able to afford this.”
She also spoke in support of “inclusive” and “equitable” practices when discussing the development of a clinical trial network that can readily react to a pandemic such as COVID-19.
Monarez said ARPA-H sought to ensure a clinical trial network that is “equitable, that it’s accessible that that it isn’t just skewed towards a demographic or a geographic or a patient population, but we actually have an inclusive clinical trial network.”
