The abrupt White House decision Thursday to withdraw former Republican Rep. Dave Weldon’s nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes amid questions surrounding the agency, including its handling of a growing measles outbreak and reports that it will study debunked theories linking autism to childhood vaccines.
Lawmakers have grown increasingly concerned about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s actions on comments on vaccines since getting confirmed, which likely complicated Weldon’s path to confirmation. Kennedy and Weldon had been close since Weldon, a former House lawmaker from Florida, left office.
The decision to withdraw Weldon’s nomination hours before he was scheduled to face the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel for his confirmation hearing appeared to stun Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., second in seniority on the panel. He told reporters he had no knowledge of the decision.
