US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he has nominated Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Schwartz, who served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term, is a rear admiral in the Coast Guard.
“She is a STAR!” the president wrote on Truth Social, and called her “incredibly talented.”
She currently serves as the Coast Guard’s director of health, safety and work-life, where she oversees a network of 41 clinics and 150 sick bays, among other duties.
She has also implemented anthrax and smallpox vaccination policies, coordinated disaster response efforts and taken part in the response to the Ebola crisis, according to CBS News.
Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, has been serving as acting CDC director. Last year, former CDC chief Susan Monarez was removed from her post less than a month after being confirmed by the Senate.
The president also said he is appointing Sean Slovenski as CDC deputy director and chief operating officer, and Jennifer Shuford as deputy director and chief medical officer.
Sara Brenner will serve as senior counselor for public health to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president added.
