Former Congressman Dave Weldon addresses a small crowd in The Villages, Fla.
Brendan Farrington | AP
The White House has pulled President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, former Rep. Dave Weldon, the Senate’s Health committee confirmed Thursday.
The move came just hours before the former Florida lawmaker, a vaccine critic, was set to appear before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for a confirmation hearing. The panel said the hearing, which had been scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, is canceled.
Axios first reported the decision on Thursday. Robert F. Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services, said Weldon wasn’t ready for the role, Axios reported. HHS oversees the CDC and all other federal health agencies.
Weldon had not heard that his nomination would be withdrawn when a reporter from the Wall Street Journal reached him at 9:01 a.m. ET on…
