Who is Susan Monarez, Trump’s new nominee for CDC director?

The Hill ^ | March 27, 2025 | Joseph Choi

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The Trump administration withdrew the nomination of former Florida Rep. David Weldon (R) to head the CDC earlier this month, with the former lawmaker saying the reason was the lack of sufficient support among Republicans to secure his confirmation.

President Trump chose Susan Monarez, a longtime federal employee and current acting CDC director, as his new pick.

Monarez has served as acting CDC director since Jan. 23, 2025. Prior to this, she served as deputy director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Before entering government work, she was a science and technology policy fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Her elevation to the acting CDC director role was unusual due to her being an outsider to the agency. If she is confirmed, she would also be the first CDC director in decades to not be an M.D.

At prior public engagements, she has frequently spoken in support of integrating technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI), into the health care sector.

In a 2023 conversation with The Hill’s former Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack, Monarez said, “AI — if used appropriately in a disciplined way, in a way where there is an actual human check and balance on anything that’s coming through a predictive or a generative model — will completely transform health care.”

Speaking at a Politico event last year, Monarez said, “What keeps me up at night is if a digital capability is being developed … [but] you are in a position where only well-financed health care systems are able to afford this.”

She also spoke in support of “inclusive” and “equitable” practices when discussing the development of a clinical trial network that can readily react to a pandemic such as COVID-19…