OAN Staff James Meyers
8:42 AM – Thursday, March 13, 2025
The Trump administration has pulled the nomination of former Republican Congressman Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just mere hours before he was set to testify before a Senate committee.
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The 71-year-old was expected to answer questions before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday, but a White House spokesperson confirmed that he was longer under consideration, according to multiple reports.
The change of heart comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that Weldon wasn’t ready for the role, according to Axios, who first reported on Weldon’s withdrawal.
“It became clear that the votes weren’t there in the Senate for him to get confirmed. This would have been a futile effort,” a source familiar with the nomination told Fox News Digital. However, there is no official reason for why the Trump administration pulled the nomination.
Weldon has raised eyebrows after saying there are links between vaccination and autism, saying mercury is a potential cause.
The Florida Conservative served in Congress from 1995 to 2009, as his videos on vaccine skepticism began to go viral this week due to his scheduled testimony before the Senate committee.
During his time in the House, Weldon co-sponsored proposed legislation with former Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) that would ban mercury in vaccines.
Meanwhile, Kennedy was hit with the same questions during his Senate Committee hearing about his thoughts on measles, hepatitis B vaccines and polio.
He was eventually able to win the majority after HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) gave him his approval along with other Republicans.
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