CDC deputy director resigns after 4 months in the job
Jennifer Shuford leaves as the agency is embroiled in a dispute over its refusal to acknowledge several measles-related deaths reported by the Pennsylvania Health Department.
Jennifer Shuford, a former state health commissioner whom President Donald Trump appointed to a top post at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help steady the agency, is leaving after just four months in the job.
Shuford’s last day is planned for Nov. 12, the CDC said in a statement Tuesday. Her departure was reported Monday night by the Washington Post. Erica Schwartz, the CDC director, announced the news to staff in an email Tuesday morning.
News of Shuford’s exit comes as the CDC faces criticism over its response to unrelenting measles outbreaks in the country. The agency is embroiled in a dispute over its refusal to acknowledge several measles-related deaths reported by the Pennsylvania Health Department.
Shuford, who was the agency’s deputy director and chief medical officer, did not respond to a request for comment. She said in the statement released by the CDC that she was leaving “to spend more time with my family.”
“I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC,” she said, referring to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “It has been an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful for it.”
Shuford previously served as health commissioner for Texas and earned respect from public health officials as she oversaw the state’s response to its measles outbreak last year. She gained a reputation as a data-driven epidemiologist who understood the importance of childhood vaccines. She joined the CDC in June.
“It is highly concerning that the most qualified person in the office of the director is departing the agency,” said Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned from the agency in August 2025 in protest of the administration’s policies.
“These decisions are hard, but based on my experience of Dr. Shuford during the West Texas measles outbreak, I trust her judgment that this is the time to depart,” Daskalakis said.
News of her planned departure came as a disappointment to people inside and outside the CDC who had hoped for more stability and sparked speculation that she must have disagreed with an upcoming policy from the administration.
Anne Zink, a former president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and Alaska’s chief medical officer until 2024, has known Shuford for years. Zink said she did not know why Shuford had decided to leave the agency so abruptly, but “taking these jobs, we all have to know our red line and when it is important to walk away,” she said.
“It is different for every person and a balance between if you can do more good inside or outside the structure,” she added.
Trump announced Shuford’s appointment in April, along with his nomination of Schwartz as the agency’s director, and Sean Slovenski, an executive in the healthcare industry, as its chief operating officer.
The CDC plans to start a search for her replacement soon. Capt. Satish Pillai will serve as acting deputy director and chief medical officer in the interim, the agency said.
“I am deeply grateful for Dr. Shuford’s outstanding leadership, and commitment to CDC and public health, especially as she has navigated an exceptionally demanding, high-profile, and constantly evolving environment over the past several months,” Schwartz said in a statement.
This article originally appeared in the New York Times.
