WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump abruptly yanked his nominee to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday morning shortly before a scheduled Senate confirmation hearing.
A source familiar with the discussions said Trump pulled David Weldon’s nomination because he did not have the votes to be confirmed.
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Weldon had been scheduled to appear before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee at 10 am. The committee announced a little before 9:30 am that Weldon’s hearing was being canceled because his nomination had been withdrawn.
Trump announced his intent to nominate Weldon to head the CDC in November.
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Weldon has a history of vaccine skepticism. The physician and former congressman has pushed a debunked link between the measles vaccine and autism. He was expected to say in testimony to the Senate that children should receive the measles vaccine, Bloomberg reported.
The U.S. is currently experiencing a measles outbreak.