March 24 (UPI) -- President Trump on Monday selected Dr. Susan Monarez, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the permanent role, replacing David Weldon, whose nomination was withdrawn because of senators' opposition.
Monarez has worked in federal government since 2006.
Until her appointment to the Trump administration on Jan. 23, she was deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Previously she worked in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. National Security Council and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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"Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems," Trump posted on Truth Social. "As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future. Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement."
She has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and post-doctoral training in immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Previous CDC directors for decades have been medical doctors.
Monarez will serve under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is HHS secretary.
"Dr. Monarez will work closely with our GREAT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr.,"Trump posted. "Together, they will prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic and, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!"
As interim director, her agency delayed a meeting of outside vaccine advisers and plans to research whether vaccines cause autism. In addition, there has been a rise in measles cases nationwide, mainly in unvaccinated children.
She will be the first person to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in the role. Previous directors didn't need to be approved by the Senate, but a law was passed in 2022 requiring confirmation.
Awaiting confirmation are nominated for the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Weldon, the previous nominee and an internal medicine doctor, was -- just like Kennedy -- an outspoken critic of vaccines.
He was a member of the U.S. House from 1995 through 2009, and he was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee in March.
In announcing the withdrawal of the nomination, Weldon continued to allege that the pharmaceutical industry and the CDC had been working against his confirmation.
On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested his state's surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, should be named to the post. Ladapo, who also is a professor at the University of Florida, has run the Florida Department of Health since 2021, including during the pandemic when he opposed CDC recommendations on vaccines.
"Ladapo would be a change agent as CDC director," DeSantis posted on X. "Dr. Joe Ladapo is all of those things and has the courage and determination to do what's right when it's not easy. Lapado as CDC Director means that MAHA is not just an empty slogan."
