Trump Will Nominate Acting Cdc Director Susan Monarez For The Position, White House Official Says

President Donald Trump will nominate Susan Monarez, the acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a longtime federal staffer, to the permanent position, a White House official confirmed Monday.

Trump abruptly withdrew the nomination of his first pick, David Weldon, earlier this month.

Monarez has been serving as the CDC's acting director since January and came from another federal agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Monarez, 50, holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin, and her postdoctoral training was in microbiology and immunology at Stanford University.

A CDC spokesperson referred a question about Monarez to the White House. In a social media post, Trump said that Monarez will work closely with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"As an incredible mother and dedicated public servant, Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future," Trump said in the post on Monday afternoon. "Americans have lost confidence in the CDC due to political bias and disastrous mismanagement."