Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy said he plans to support forwarding Erica Schwartz's nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Schwartz is President Donald Trump's nominee for the CDC director role. At the committee meeting, Cassidy - a Republican from Louisiana and a physician - opened by expressing confidence in her qualifications.
"I'm confident that she knows what she's doing and will stand against those who do not," Cassidy said in his opening remarks to the committee.
Following his statement, Cassidy adjourned the HELP Committee and announced that an informal, off-the-floor vote would be held later in the morning at 11:35 a.m. ET. According to the committee proceedings, Cassidy's vote is expected to be decisive in determining whether the nomination is advanced.
If the committee votes to advance Erica Schwartz's nomination, the next step will be a roll call before the full Senate at a subsequent date, where senators will vote on whether to confirm her as CDC director.
The committee action and Cassidy's declaration frame the immediate procedural path for the nomination: a committee decision on advancement followed by a full Senate confirmation vote if the nomination is reported out of committee. The timeline beyond the scheduled off-the-floor vote was not specified during the meeting.
This report focuses on the described committee proceedings and statements made on the record during the HELP Committee meeting. It does not address any subsequent developments or outcomes beyond the information presented at that session.