The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, putting her in charge of a public health agency that has been battered by political interference and low morale.

Schwartz was confirmed by a 51-44 vote. The 54-year-old becomes the 22nd leader of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is responsible for protecting Americans from preventable health threats, and the agency’s first confirmed director in nearly a year. Her background includes medical and law degrees, a stint as deputy surgeon general, and a leadership role at the U.S. Coast Guard.

Her nomination had been in doubt after a hearing last month before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and other senators questioned whether she would be willing to confront Republican President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., if he directed the CDC to take actions not supported by science and established public health practice.

Weeks later, Cassidy said he had spoken with Schwartz after the hearing and with others who knew her, and said those conversations had increased his confidence in her.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to questions about when Schwartz will begin the job or what her salary will be.

The confirmation gives the CDC a permanent director at a time when the agency’s role has become especially visible in debates over vaccines, disease surveillance and federal public health guidance. The CDC has been in turmoil since Trump returned to office last year. The agency has lost more than 3,000 employees, or more than one-quarter of its workforce, largely because of layoffs and resignations. Morale has fallen sharply as a series of mostly temporary leaders have come and gone, and the front office has been staffed by political appointees with little or no training in medicine or public health.

“Now, Dr. Schwartz needs to prove that her leadership will serve science and not the whims of politicians. CDC needs a Director who will protect public health workers, defend evidence-based guidance, and refuse any directive that would undermine public safety,” the National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers, said in a statement Wednesday.

When Schwartz was nominated in April, public health experts were cautiously optimistic because of her background. They also noted that Schwartz was Trump’s choice, not Kennedy’s, even though Kennedy was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before being tapped to oversee the CDC and other federal health agencies.

Schwartz is the third Trump nominee for CDC director in the past 18 months.

The first was former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon. His Senate hearing in March 2025 was canceled an hour before it was scheduled to begin. Weldon later said he had been told that too few senators were prepared to support him.

The White House then turned to Susan Monarez, who had been serving as the CDC’s acting director. Monarez was confirmed by the Senate but removed from the job in less than a month. Trump administration officials said she was not aligned with the president’s agenda and terminated her.

Since then, several HHS officials have served as acting CDC directors.

“With all the turmoil of the past two years, the CDC desperately needs stability, experienced leadership and a steadfast commitment to science,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association in a statement Wednesday.

The CDC position was one of several leadership vacancies across federal health agencies, including the U.S. surgeon general and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com