White House Withdraws Nomination of Dr. David Weldon for CDC Director
The White House has pulled the nomination of Dr. David Weldon, a former Florida congressman, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This decision came just before Weldon was set to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. While the exact reasons for the withdrawal remain unclear, it is widely believed that Weldon lacked sufficient support for Senate confirmation, as his nomination faced significant opposition due to his controversial stance on vaccines.
Weldon, a physician, had previously made statements questioning the safety of vaccines and linking them to autism, a theory that has been debunked by the scientific community. He also introduced legislation in 2007 aimed at shifting oversight of vaccine safety from the CDC to an independent agency. These views were similar to those of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary. Despite the controversy surrounding his vaccine stance, the CDC plans to continue researching autism and its potential links to vaccines.
