Dr. Mandy Cohen: Biden picks next CDC director

CNN
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President Joe Biden intends to appoint Dr. Mandy Cohen to head the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House has confirmed exclusively to CNN, succeeding Dr. Rochelle Walensky in the critical public health role. as the agency grapples with challenges in the wake of the pandemic.

“Dr. Cohen is one of the nation’s top physicians and healthcare leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track record of protecting the health and safety of Americans,” said Biden said in a statement shared first with CNN.

And as Cohen takes on what has become an increasingly politicized role at the CDC, Biden has announced his ability to work across the aisle.

“Dr. Cohen has been recognized by leaders of both parties for her ability to find common ground and implement complex policies. I look forward to working with Dr. Cohen as she leads top scientists and public health experts from our nation with integrity and transparency,” the president said.

Cohen, who will soon be moving away from a role in the private sector, previously served as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, where she oversaw the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic during the Trump and Biden administrations, and also oversaw a major transition for the state’s Medicaid program. Previously, she was Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where she was instrumental in implementing the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges, working closely with the current White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients.

Zients touted Cohen’s managerial skills after the announcement, saying in a statement, “Dr. Cohen will start running as the leader of the best public health organization in the world, saving lives every day. She’s an exceptional manager, she gets things done, and she’s a trusted voice the American people want to hear.

Cohen received his medical degree from Yale School of Medicine and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She is an internal medicine physician who also has experience working in state and federal government.

Cohen’s selection was first reported by the Washington Post.

Walensky announced his departure from his government role last month in the days before the Covid-19 public health emergency was lifted. His last day at the CDC will be June 30.

As she prepares to step into the role, Cohen inherits an agency plagued by challenges and low morale. The CDC is in ‘a moment of peril’ and a ‘strong, effective and more accountable’ agency is an urgent matter of national security, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Strengthening U.S. Health Security, released earlier this year.

Those who have worked with Cohen describe her as adept at building relationships across the political spectrum and someone who leans into crises and challenges – pointing to her experience with the deployment of healthcare.gov under the Obama administration and working across the aisle in North Carolina during the pandemic.

“She doesn’t shy away from a challenge. She takes up the challenge. He’s the kind of person who says what everyone else doesn’t mean or fears, including, you know, the truth about whether he’s doing the right thing or doing his job. or not. said former Biden adviser Andy Slavitt, who worked with Cohen when he was a CMS director and she was his chief of staff.

“She is able to both be a participant in the solution, but also sit on the problem and have enough perspective. She reaches out to people and asks for advice, and she goes without fear,” added Slavitt.

Cohen earned praise from former Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina.

“She has all the tools and the first-hand experience and knows what needs to be done. And she has the intelligence to know how to do it. … I saw Mandy firsthand in North Carolina making some tough decisions. And I don’t think there was ever a time that I can remember in public health where there was such a spotlight on every health decision made across the system,” Burr told CNN during of a telephone interview.

While leading the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services during the pandemic, Burr said, “You would expect that if people wanted to do politics, they would — they would. would do it aggressively – and you’d come away with a sort of mixed summary of it. She came out 100%. And I think that’s because she never did anything political. She called balls and strikes based on what was best for health care for North Carolinians,” he said.

Still, the CDC has become significantly politicized in recent years, a challenge Cohen will face, especially as she advocates for agency funding during what is expected to be an uphill battle for government funding this fall.

“It’s political work. It’s a job where you have to pay attention to the people who are funding you and taking the money, the voters and the voters, because they have to see that these agencies are supporting them,” Slavitt said.

Cohen, he added, was “loved” in North Carolina on both sides of the aisle for her willingness to listen, calling her “very adept politically,” an essential skill when testifying on Capitol Hill. , working with the White House and communicating with states in the role of the CDC.

While leading the state’s response, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Cohen “believes being clear and transparent about challenges is essential to building consensus and finding solutions and she really knows how doctors, regulators, and even legislators think and work. .”

Cohen criticized the CDC’s initial response to Covid-19 under the Trump administration.

“It was a crisis. Nobody’s perfect in a crisis. … And I think getting through a crisis is really about preparation and execution. I think on the CDC side they were under-prepared and their execution was lacking. … And unfortunately, they made a few missteps early on that really hurt their long-term credibility,” she said during a conversation with the Center for Health Sector Management at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, highlighting his own state’s efforts to build trust and “show a lot of humility in saying what we’ve done and didn’t know”.

“I sometimes feel like the CDC hasn’t been able to both articulate with certainty how to give advice, but also articulate, ‘We’re learning, we’re watching science happen here in time. real guys. Like, that’s the best answer I have for you today… but in two weeks it might be different. It was not easy to communicate,” she said.

Cohen continued, “There are a lot of wonderful scientists and thinkers at the CDC. They lacked the necessary operational delivery capacity,” adding that states needed to “fill this void.”

While the position is currently a political appointee, Burr has campaigned for recently passed legislation that will make the Senate-confirmed role effective in 2025 — setting up a test of Cohen’s ability to stabilize the CDC ship in sight. of a successor.

“She’s going to be the bridge between when we don’t need it and when we need it. … My advice to her is that you’re going to be judged on your ability to set up the CDC in a way that let the next CDC director be judged on their qualifications,” Burr said.

Cooper echoed those sentiments. As she took over as head of the state health department, Cooper said, “She gave employees new hope and a new vision and a plan of action and rebuilt this department to where it needed to be. and beyond. And I think she’ll find a similar situation with the CDC. We know this agency has been attacked, and I think they will know what to do to inspire confidence in their employees there. And she will also be good at dealing with outside forces because there are a lot of challenges.

Cohen will begin his new role next month.