Dr. Erica Schwartz, Trump’s latest nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is scheduled to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday morning, to answer questions about her vision and qualifications for the role.

The confirmation hearing, with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, will be Schwartz’s first public appearance since Trump nominated her for the role in mid-April. Schwartz is Trump’s third nominee to lead the nation’s beleaguered public health agency, which has not had a permanent director for most of Trump’s second term in office.

If confirmed, Schwartz will work under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC.

Schwartz is a retired Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, with degrees in medicine, law and public health. She previously served as chief medical officer of the U.S. Coast Guard, and as deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration.

Earlier this year, on Instagram, Schwartz voiced her support for vaccines as tools to prevent illness and prevent readiness in the military. (Her Instagram page was removed soon after she was nominated for the CDC director role).

Public health veterans say she has the credentials and experience for the job. “People are very optimistic about her candidacy and are supportive of her potentially being in the role,” says Dr. Marcus Plescia, district health director for Fulton County, which includes Atlanta where the CDC is headquartered.

“What we really need right now is a CDC director who can step in and be a spokesperson on some of the emerging issues we’re facing,” says Plescia, “We need somebody in that position who can get in and establish themselves and be there to stay.”

Schwartz is generally expected to clear the Senate confirmation process. However, the role comes with major challenges and pitfalls.

Health Secretary Kennedy came into office with an agenda to change vaccine policy. In recent months, his changes have largely been blocked by a federal judge, but the intention remains, Dr. Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, told NPR. “The political agenda is still there,” he says.