Senate committee postpones vote on CDC director nominee

A key Senate committee delayed a vote on Thursday, July 23, 2026, on the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, despite the crucial endorsement of the panel's Republican chairman. The postponement occurred due to the absence of Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who was attending to a family emergency, which left the committee without the necessary votes to advance the nomination.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee had been scheduled to vote on sending Schwartz's nomination to the full Senate. Chairman Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, announced his support for the nominee earlier Thursday, citing follow-up conversations with Schwartz and a recent modification to a controversial CDC webpage. The page, which addresses vaccines and autism, had been a point of contention. While it still contains language suggesting a potential link-a claim widely rejected by the scientific community-a new statement was added noting that scientists have not identified the root causes of autism and that the Department of Health and Human Services supports ongoing research.

Cassidy, a physician, described the...