Dr. Dave Weldon’s nomination to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was abruptly revoked by the White House on Thursday morning, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The withdrawal happened just before Weldon was supposed to appear for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Weldon, an internal medicine physician and former member of Congress, came under intense scrutiny for his anti-vaccine record and his staunch anti-abortion positions.
While in Congress, Weldon co-sponsored a bill that would have banned mercury from vaccines. In 2007, Weldon wrote in a statement for a different bill he sponsored that there are “legitimate questions” regarding the connection between the mercury-based preservative thimerosal and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders.
Weldon holds many of the same positions on vaccine safety as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who almost did not pass his confirmation process due to his long history of vaccine skepticism. Kennedy and Weldon have reportedly maintained a relationship for about 25 years.
On Thursday afternoon, Weldon issued a four-page statement to reporters saying his nomination was withdrawn because Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) were planning to vote against his confirmation due to his position on vaccines, thereby preventing him from advancing to the full Senate.
Weldon, who chastised Cassidy by saying he thought they were friends, also referenced in the press statement that the Louisiana senator “once asked that my nomination be withdrawn.”
A Cassidy spokesman told the Washington Examiner that the decision to withdraw Weldon’s nomination “was not in response to any request from Senator Cassidy.”
Weldon also chided Collins’s staff as being “suddenly very hostile” during a preparation meeting on Tuesday, March 11.
“They repeatedly [accused] me of being ‘anti-vax,’ even though I reminded them that I actually give hundreds of vaccines every year in my medical practice,” said Weldon, adding that “Collins’s staff suddenly couldn’t get over that no matter what I said back.”
A person familiar with the March 11 meeting told the Washington Examiner that Collins’s staff asked Weldon how he prepared to respond to the accusation of being anti-vaccine while testifying during the confirmation hearing.
Collins told reporters on Thursday afternoon that she did not share any concerns about Weldon with the White House.
“I had some reservations, but I had certainly not reached a final judgment,” Collins said. “I followed my normal practice of waiting until the hearing was scheduled so he could respond in a public forum.”
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Cassidy said in a statement sent to the Washington Examiner that he was “looking forward to the hearing” and “surprised” by the withdrawal.
“His poor response to this situation shows that the pressures of being CDC director would have been too much,” Cassidy said.
