Secretary Kennedy Swears in Susan Monarez as CDC Director to Advance ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Agenda

WASHINGTON—JULY 31, 2025—Susan Monarez, Ph.D., was sworn in today as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Director Monarez, the first Senate-confirmed director of the CDC, brings decades of frontline experience in disaster preparedness, biosecurity, and health innovation. As CDC Director, she will lead the agency in its renewed mission to prevent disease and defend against health threats at home and abroad—advancing President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s broader vision to Make America Healthy Again.

“Director Monarez is a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials,” said Secretary Kennedy. “I have full confidence in her ability to restore the CDC’s role as the most trusted authority in public health and to strengthen our nation's readiness to confront infectious diseases and biosecurity threats.”

“It is a great honor to join Secretary Kennedy and his HHS leadership team,” said Director Monarez. “I consider it a privilege to work alongside the public servants at CDC. Together we will strengthen and modernize the nation’s public health preparedness and response through science and innovation. We will work every day at CDC to Make America Health Again.”

Director Monarez most recently served as Acting Director of CDC and Deputy Director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, where she transformed the HHS operating division’s data collection, disease detection and treatment technologies. She has held previous leadership and advisory roles with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority at HHS, the Department of Homeland Security, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Security Council.

Director Monarez earned her PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she conducted research on developing technologies aimed at the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases. She completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine.