The White House has withdrawn its candidate to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just hours before he was set to testify before a Senate committee.
President Donald Trump’s administration pulled the nomination of Dave Weldon because “it was clear he did not have the votes in the Senate” to be confirmed, an official told CBS News, BBC’s news partner.
The Senate has so far confirmed every Trump nominee, including his more controversial choices.
Weldon was set to speak before the Senate’s health committee at 10:00 EST (14:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Trump named the 71-year-old, a doctor and former Republican member of the House of Representatives, to lead the health agency in November.
It is the first time a CDC director must be confirmed by the Senate, because of a law passed by Congress in 2022.
The BBC has contacted the White House and Weldon for comment.
The former Republican representative told the New York Times he had mixed feelings about the news.
“It is a shock, but, you know, in some ways, it’s relief,” Weldon said. “Government jobs demand a lot of you, and if God doesn’t want me in it, I’m fine with that.”
The CDC is in charge of vaccine recommendations as well as monitoring infectious disease outbreaks and preventing chronic diseases.
Weldon told the New York Times he had been excited to work with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr – whose agency oversees the CDC – to enact his so-called “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Weldon said he and Kennedy had been friends for years.
The health secretary has faced criticism over his response to measles outbreaks across the country, which have sickened over 250 people.
Kennedy, who has been critical of measles vaccines and other childhood immunizations, has downplayed the seriousness of the outbreak, calling it “not unusual”, while also promoting treatments not supported by health experts.
Weldon also spread false claims about vaccines, including debunked theories about their ties to autism.
He served as a lawmaker for 14 years, leaving in 2009. For the past 13 years, he has worked as a clinical university professor of biomedical engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology, according to his LinkedIn.
In nominating Weldon last year, Trump claimed Americans had lost faith in the CDC, and that Weldon “understands American family values, and views health as one of utmost importance”.
