RFK Swears In Tech Expert Susan Monarez As CDC Director Amid Trump Admin’s Health Tech Push

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swore in tech expert Susan Monarez as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday amid the Trump administration’s push for health technology.

The cabinet secretary swore in Monarez, a veteran of tech-tied government programs like Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), after the Senate confirmed her as CDC director Tuesday.

She became the first Senate-confirmed CDC director after a provision in the 2023 Congressional omnibus bill made the CDC director a Senate-confirmed position.

Congratulations to Dr. Susan Monarez, PhD, on her Senate confirmation as the 21st Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She brings decades of distinguished experience in health innovation, disaster preparedness, global health, and biosecurity to @CDCgov. Dr.… pic.twitter.com/xG4nsRdFnS

— CDC (@CDCgov) July 29, 2025

Monarez’s background as a tech-savvy microbiologist and involvement in government promotion of wearable health-tracking technology fits her seamlessly into a Trump health regime that appears to be putting all its chips on health tech.

Alongside Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Dr. Oz and White House Crypto Czar David Sacks, Trump announced a sweeping public-private partnership with numerous healthcare and Big Tech firms Wednesday.

The partnership, called the CMS Digital Health Tech Ecosystem, seeks to consolidate Americans’ health data and make it easier to access, Kennedy Jr. announced Wednesday. (RELATED: ‘Extinction-Level’: MAHA Warns Pesticide Immunity Provision Could Mirror Anger-Inducing Bill From 1980s)

It represents the Trump administration’s embrace of technological solutions and that of Kennedy Jr.’s HHS and other subsidiary agencies as well. Sacks emphasized the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose disease and argued that providing more data to AI systems would be beneficial.

Before Monarez ascended to her previous position as Acting CDC Director, she was the Deputy Director of the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H). ARPA-H is an agency that funds “transformative biomedical and health breakthroughs,” its website reads. The agency has also taken part in researching using AI for health care purposes and has invested in a multiple wearable and biometric technologies.

Before that, Monarez spent her career focusing on the “ethical use of artificial intelligence,” according to her ARPA-H profile. She was also involved in the expansion of wearable tech intended to promote health while with the White House Office of Science and Technology and the National Security Council.

While Kennedy Jr. has referred to Monarez as his “handpicked” nominee, many in his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement disapprove.

“This is your pick? Really?” Dr. Kirk Moore asked Kennedy Jr. on X.

Children’s Health Defense, an organization which Kennedy Jr. founded, called Monarez’s nomination “[o]ne step forward two steps back,” in a March post on X.

BREAKING: Susan Monarez, the acting @CDCDirector since January, would replace Dr. David Weldon, whose nomination was withdrawn by the White House earlier this month.

One step forward two steps back.https://t.co/UnGKxNy8Ce

— Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) March 24, 2025