Senate confirms new CDC director as diarrhea-causing parasite outbreak sweeps US

The Senate confirmed the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as viral outbreaks wreak havoc across the country, and as lawmakers worry whether they’ve found someone to stand up to President Donald Trump’s top health official.

The upper chamber confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz to be the next CDC director on Wednesday along party lines. Her confirmation comes as a Cyclospora outbreak, commonly known as the diarrhea parasite, carves its way across the U.S. from contaminated lettuce.