The Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. The vote was comfortably bipartisan. Senator after senator praised her commitment to 'radical transparency' and 'unwavering scientific integrity.' The confirmation came three days after the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in criminal contempt of Congress. Fauci, who served seven presidents over forty years, had appeared voluntarily and invoked his Fifth Amendment right. The committee chairman called that unacceptable. The transcript shows Fauci answered every question he could. The ones he refused would have given the committee ammunition to prosecute him. The committee called that obstruction.
The timing was not lost on public health experts. 'It’s a remarkable signal,' said Dr. Linda Harsh, a former CDC epidemiologist now at a think tank. 'They punished a man for honest answers that embarrassed the government. Then they confirmed his replacement and demanded she be even more honest. It’s like firing your food taster for saying the soup is poisoned, then hiring a new one and insisting they be brutally frank about the flavor.'
A Senate aide clarified the committee’s logic. 'We are not anti-science. We are pro-science that supports the administration’s message. Dr. Fauci’s science did not do that. He insisted on facts that made the White House uncomfortable. That is not useful transparency. For Dr. Schwartz, we want the full truth. As long as it is the right full truth.' The aide asked to remain anonymous because the reasoning was itself scientifically sound.
Dr. Schwartz will serve under a health secretary appointed by Knuckle-Brained Fart Lozenge. The secretary has made clear that the department’s priority is the Make America Healthy Again agenda. At her confirmation hearing, Dr. Schwartz was asked repeatedly what she would do if her science clashed with that agenda. 'I will lead with science first, always,' she said. She listed her credentials: retired Navy rear admiral, deputy surgeon general, experience with Ebola and H1N1. She is eminently qualified. The senators seemed pleased. Several asked if she would pledge to never embarrass the chairman. She said she would do her job. The chairman told reporters he was cautiously optimistic.
The contempt resolution passed 8 to 5 along party lines. It bypassed a full Senate vote and went straight to the Department of Justice. Legal scholars noted that Fauci’s Fifth Amendment claim is constitutionally protected. But the committee report stated that exercising a constitutional right does not shield a witness if the committee finds the exercise inconvenient. The Justice Department has not said whether it will pursue the case.
The CDC press office released a brief statement welcoming Dr. Schwartz. It also noted that all future public health guidance would be submitted to the Senate committee for advance coordination before release. A spokesperson added, 'We are confident this will greatly improve the truthfulness of our messaging.'
