In an abrupt about-face, the Trump administration has pulled the nomination of a director-level official just hours before he was set to participate in his first committee hearing before U.S. senators on Thursday.
The rescinding of Dave Weldon for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director partly clears the schedule of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
In a statement announcing the cancellation of Weldon’s hearing, the committee confirmed it will proceed with confirmation hearings for Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for National Institutes of Health director and Dr. Marty Makary for Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“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 administration’s thinking told Fox News. No official reason for Weldon’s removal has yet been given.
In a bit of hasty miscommunication, Weldon appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday ready to testify. The Wall Street Journal reported that he was unaware his nomination had been pulled, but an administration official insists he was informed last night.
Weldon, a physician by trade, represented Florida’s 15th Congressional District from 1995 to 2009. He has ignited controversies in the past for discounting the efficacy of vaccines, statements that were expected to be brought up at his hearing on Thursday. In 2007, Weldon said there are “legitimate questions” about whether vaccines may be linked to neurological disorders in children, including autism.
In Congress, he co-sponsored legislation that would have removed mercury from vaccines.
On its face, the reversal of Weldon’s nomination is curious, considering Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was able to cobble together the votes necessary to be confirmed.
The son of Robert F. Kennedy was a colorful figure in the Democratic Party for years, elevating concerns about vaccines while suggesting that alternative, homeopathic remedies such as ivermectin and vitamin C were adequate for avoiding infection or death from COVID-19.
Kennedy’s hearings last month were filled with fireworks as he was questioned by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) about his past anti-vaccine statements in made-for-TV moments that, if anything, appeared to strengthen President Trump’s resolve in sticking behind his HHS nominee.
Kennedy’s confirmation only became possible after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician, agreed to support it on the condition that the two men meet regularly to discuss HHS policies regarding the approval of vaccines and other drugs.
Should’ve pulled Makary too!