White House Withdraws Nominee To Lead Centers for Disease Control
The White House has decided to withdraw Dave Weldon’s nomination for CDC director, according to Fox News Digital. Weldon had been set for a confirmation hearing on Thursday.
On Thursday morning, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a statement canceling his hearing. However, the committee confirmed that votes would still proceed for Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director and Dr. Marty Makary as FDA Commissioner.
“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 situation informed Fox News.
Fox News noted that, as of publication, the Trump White House had not provided an official explanation for the withdrawal.
Weldon, a physician and former Florida congressman, has previously expressed skepticism regarding vaccines, remarks that were expected to draw attention during his hearing. In 2007, he stated that there were “legitimate questions” about potential connections between vaccines and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, according to Fox News.
Additionally, during his tenure in Congress, Weldon co-sponsored legislation with former Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to prohibit mercury in vaccines.
Concerns over vaccine skepticism also surfaced during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services secretary. Senate HELP Committee Democrats frequently referenced his past statements linking vaccines to autism and scrutinized his role as chairman and chief litigation counsel for Children’s Health Defense—a nonprofit known for opposing vaccines and engaging in legal action against the federal government.
Last week, presidential counselor Alina Habba criticized Democrats for continually attempting to hinder the administration’s agenda.
During an interview on “America Reports,” Habba spoke with co-hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith about the president’s early days back in office and expectations as the first 100 days neared completion.
She highlighted the Trump administration’s establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the team’s work to identify instances of waste, fraud, and abuse in government expenditures. Habba also quipped that if Democrats were frustrated now, they should brace themselves for more revelations about “fraud.”
“There was a mandate. It was on November 5th and we swept the country, and that’s because they weren’t OK with what the last administration did,” Habba stated. “So, the mandate does not come from the legislative history, it comes from the American people who voted President Trump and his America First agenda. And that is what we’re going to do.
“And that is what we are doing, exactly what Americans voted for and we are going to continue to do that. So, you know, again, left-wing narrative, we expect more to come because we’re shaking things up. President Trump is a disruptor to help America. Every single person that is going to get confirmed and has gotten confirmed is America First agenda. That’s what we’re going to do,” she continued.
Habba also commented on the confirmation process for Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
“President Trump’s made it clear that they better cooperate and push our people through. These are people that are on point with our mandates, with what America voted for, and they’re playing games,” she said. “They’re saying they’re not available. They’re doing what they need to do to slow roll this. And frankly, we have acting attorney generals, we have people acting in the DoJ running the show, helping President Trump push every single EO, and there has been many of them. Government officials need to cooperate as well. And I have — I think America is tired of this.”