Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) voiced strong confidence on Thursday that newly installed CDC Director Erica Schwartz will resist President Trump's executive order overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule, predicting she will prioritize scientific evidence over political pressure.
“I anticipate Erica Schwartz will do the right thing,” Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said on CNBC's “Squawk Box.” “She made a point that her integrity was not in question, and she's got the spine of somebody who's been a senior officer in the Coast Guard.”
Schwartz was sworn in as CDC director on Thursday, after Senate confirmation last week. She immediately faces a high-stakes test: Trump's executive order slashing the recommended childhood vaccine schedule from 18 to 11 shots and splitting the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate inoculations.
Cassidy, a physician who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, called the order “bad policy on multiple levels,” arguing it is driven by ideology rather than science. “People just out there undermining faith in immunizations is going to lead to fewer people being immunized, which means that the illness, the death associated with that undermining trust, is upon the people who actually promulgated this,” he said, in a thinly veiled criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Public health advocates are closely watching how Schwartz will respond. She is the second Senate-confirmed CDC director of Trump's second term. Her predecessor, Susan Monarez, was fired less than a month into the job after clashing with Kennedy over his efforts to roll back childhood vaccines. The agency has operated without a permanent leader since then.
Vaccine recommendations are typically developed by an independent advisory panel after reviewing medical evidence, and an executive order does not carry the force of law. The federal government does not mandate vaccines—that authority rests with states—but the CDC's schedule heavily influences state policies and insurance coverage decisions.
Schwartz, who served as deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration and as a top Coast Guard health official, has publicly supported childhood vaccines and is seen as a mainstream pick who could restore stability to the agency. However, during her confirmation hearing last month, Democrats expressed doubts about her willingness to push back against Kennedy's policies. Cassidy himself had reservations, noting Schwartz largely sidestepped questions on the issue. He ultimately supported her after the CDC modified a webpage on vaccines and autism to address his concerns.
“I'm confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not,” Cassidy said at the time.
Meanwhile, the political fallout from Trump's order continues to escalate. Pediatricians have blasted the order as dangerous, and the fight is reigniting political battles ahead of the midterms. Cassidy's remarks add a notable Republican voice to the criticism, underscoring the deep divisions within the GOP over vaccine policy.
