The White House is withdrawing Dave Weldon’s nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a rare setback for President Trump’s picks to lead critical agencies and departments.
A White House official confirmed the withdrawal moments before Dr. Weldon, a doctor and former congressman, was set to face questioning before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about his past views on vaccine safety.
The HELP Committee website said the confirmation session had been canceled.
Dr. Weldon faced scrutiny over his ties to vaccine skepticism and willingness to explore a possible link between shots and conditions like autism, prompting worries he wouldn’t be able to gain sufficient votes for confirmation.
In a 2007 statement about proposed legislation, he wrote: “Legitimate questions persist regarding the possible association between the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, and the childhood epidemic of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism.”
Thimerosal was taken out of childhood vaccines as a precautionary measure in 2001, though theories about an unsubstantiated link between vaccines and autism persist.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is facing scrutiny over his own vaccine skepticism, particularly as a measles outbreak ravages southwestern U.S. states. The outbreak has infected more than 250 people, mainly in Texas, though Oklahoma and New Mexico have reported cases.
Like Mr. Kennedy, Dr. Weldon has said he supports vaccination but wanted more scrutiny of shot safety and ingredients in the vaccines.
Dr. Weldon served in Congress from 1995 and 2009 and is best known for the Weldon Amendment, which bars discrimination against hospitals and insurers that refuse to facilitate abortions.
Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group that Mr. Kennedy once chaired, said it was disheartened by Mr. Trump’s decision.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pull the nomination of Dave Weldon as CDC director, as he would be an ideal candidate for the protection of public health,” the group posted on X.
The withdrawal is a notable hiccup among Mr. Trump’s nominees, who have made it through the Senate with great success despite early and serious doubts about some of the picks.
Mr. Trump’s first pick to lead the Department of Justice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from contention, though other polarizing nominees made it through the Senate with some cajoling and reassurance from Mr. Trump and his aides.
Peter Hotez, an infectious diseases expert at the Baylor College of Medicine, said the nomination was a surprise choice from the start because he associated Dr. Weldon with the 20-year-old fight against thimerosal.
“He hadn’t been on my radar screen in recent years,” Dr. Hotez said.
Mr. Trump will have to look for someone new to lead the CDC. Democrats offered some guidance.
“While I have little to no confidence in the Trump administration to do so, they should immediately nominate someone for this position who at bare minimum believes in basic science and will help lead CDC’s important work to monitor and prevent deadly outbreaks,” said Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat.
Despite the Weldon setback, the HELP committee advanced two of Mr. Trump’s health nominees — Marty Makary as commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration, and Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health.
Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, said both men are qualified to lead the agencies as it contends with challenges, including a measles outbreak that led to the death of an unvaccinated child.
Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, led the Democratic minority in opposing the nomination.
Mr. Sanders said he fears the nominees would do nothing to increase the affordability of drugs and health services for Americans.
