Trump Ex-Deputy Surgeon General Seen as Potential CDC Head (1)

Erica Schwartz, US deputy surgeon general during the first Trump administration, has become a leading candidate for the top job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to people familiar with the matter.

Schwartz would be a conventional choice for the nation’s top public health agency, which has been in a state of chaos under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For most of the past year, it’s been without a permanent director, has seen major staff cuts, high-profile departures and faced legal challenges.

Schwartz is a retired rear admiral in the Commissioned ...