Former Texas health official Dr. Jennifer Shuford will step down from her roles as deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention several months after joining the agency.
The Washington Post first reported the news of Shuford's departure Tuesday. A CDC spokesperson said Shuford's last day at the agency will be Nov. 12.
"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," said CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz in a statement from the agency.
Both Shuford and Schwartz were tapped by President Trump to join the CDC's leadership in April.
"These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC," Trump said in a post on his social media platform TruthSocial at the time.
Like Schwartz, Shuford has supported vaccines, including when she oversaw the 2025 measles outbreak in West Texas and helped lead Texas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic before that. She was trained as an infectious disease physician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and earned a Masters in Public Health from Harvard University.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, has in the past come into conflict with CDC leaders due to disagreements over vaccine policy — including former CDC director Susan Monarez, who said those disagreements led to her firing.
In the CDC's statement, Shuford said she is stepping down to spend more time with family.
"I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC," she said. "It has been an amazing experience and I will be forever grateful for it."
KUT News has reached out to Shuford for additional comment.
Dr. Satish Pillai will serve as the CDC's acting chief medical officer until a long-term replacement for Shuford is identified.
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