Trump White House pulls nomination of David Weldon as CDC director

The White House has decided to withdraw the nomination of Dave Weldon for the position of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director. This decision comes just before Weldon’s scheduled confirmation hearing, which was set to take place on Thursday.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a statement announcing the cancellation of Weldon’s hearing. Despite this, the committee confirmed that they would proceed with the votes for other nominees, including Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for National Institutes of Health (NIH) director and Dr. Marty Makary for Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

A source familiar with the situation revealed to Fox News Digital that it had become evident that the necessary votes for Weldon’s confirmation were lacking in the Senate. Therefore, moving forward with the confirmation process would have been futile.

Weldon, a former Florida congressman and medical doctor, has previously expressed skepticism towards vaccines. His past statements on vaccines, including questioning potential links between vaccines and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, were expected to be a point of contention during his confirmation hearing. In 2007, Weldon raised concerns about the presence of mercury in vaccines and co-sponsored legislation with former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., to ban mercury from vaccines.

As this story continues to develop, stay tuned for further updates on this matter.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.