The White House pulled the nomination of former Rep. Dave Weldon of Florida to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hours before his scheduled confirmation hearing.
Axios was the first to report the news, citing sources familiar with the matter. But his 10 a.m. nomination hearing on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions website says “cancelled.”
While no explanation has been provided, The New York Times reports "it became clear to the White House that Dr. Weldon did not have the votes in the full Senate to be confirmed, and Dr. Weldon said in an interview that he learned of the decision last night."
His hearing was set to take place amid significant measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, which have infected more than 250 people and claimed two lives; a flu season that led to record numbers of hospitalizations; and the potential for a bird flu epidemic.
He had repeatedly questioned the safety of the measles vaccine and criticized the C.D.C. for not doing enough to prove that vaccines are safe.
While in Congress, Dr. Weldon pushed to move the vaccine safety office away from C.D.C. control, saying the agency had a conflict of interest because it also purchases and promotes vaccines. He is also a staunch opponent of abortion.
Dr. Weldon was perhaps the least known of the men nominated to lead major agencies at the Department of Health and Human Services. But he was the one aligned most closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s new health secretary.
Dr. Weldon and Mr. Kennedy have maintained a 25-year relationship. The health secretary has cited Dr. Weldon’s criticisms of the C.D.C. along with his own. (New York Times)
Despite being labeled anti-vax, Weldon told the Times in an interview last year both his children are fully vaccinated and as a physician, he gave plenty of shots. "I believe in vaccination," he said.
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