Dr. Dave Weldon’s nomination to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was abruptly revoked by the White House 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, had come 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 succeed in his confirmation process due to his long history of vaccine skepticism.
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Kennedy and Weldon have reportedly maintained a relationship for about 25 years.
Weldon also spearheaded the Weldon Amendment, a provision in a 2004 appropriations bill that prohibits health agencies from discriminating against hospitals or health insurance plans that do not provide or pay for abortion services.
