Senate panel advances Trump CDC director nominee

A Senate committee voted on July 30 to advance the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, moving President Donald Trump's pick for the nation's top public health agency to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also advanced the nomination of Sean Kaufman to head the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

The committee's votes followed weeks of scrutiny over whether the nominees would maintain scientific independence from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a figure known for promoting vaccine skepticism. Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, announced his support for both nominees at the start of Thursday's session, citing assurances he received from HHS officials.

Cassidy said he secured commitments that Kaufman, whose past social media posts criticized certain immunizations, would not be involved in vaccine policy decisions and would not be the ultimate decision-maker on issues related to mRNA vaccines. Regarding Schwartz, Cassidy pointed to recent modifications to a CDC webpage about vaccines and...