Donald Trump has yet to nominate a permanent director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leaving the agency without a Senate-confirmed leader for more than 210 days. The CDC has been plagued by turmoil over the past year, including a shooting at its Atlanta headquarters and an exodus of senior officials who accused Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of politicising the agency.
Jay Bhattacharya, who also runs the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has served as interim CDC chief since February. He is expected to continue overseeing the agency through a delegation of authority by Kennedy, according to statements from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House. The HHS said Kennedy and Chris Klomp, director of Medicare, are working with the White House to find a candidate who can restore the CDC to its original mission of fighting infectious disease.
The absence of a permanent CDC director effectively shifts authority over vaccine recommendations to Kennedy, according to Stanford law professor Anne Joseph O’Connell. A federal judge recently ruled that Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisory panel was unlawfully appointed, voiding decisions that included no longer recommending the latest flu and Covid shots.
Meanwhile, Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means, remains in limbo more than 320 days after her nomination. The Senate health committee has yet to schedule a vote on her appointment. Means, 38, is neither board-certified nor holds an active medical licence, and her scientific experience is mainly as an influencer in the “Make America healthy again” (Maha) space. During her confirmation hearing, she evaded questions about vaccine guidance and faced criticism over potential conflicts of interest tied to her wellness product promotions.
Key Republican votes on the health committee, including Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have expressed scepticism about Means’s nomination. The White House is reportedly struggling to find a CDC director nominee who aligns with its agenda and can withstand Senate scrutiny.
