FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – The White House has withdrawn the nomination of David Weldon to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Weldon, 71, a physician and former congressman from Florida, has long expressed concern about the adverse effects of immunization, promoting the debunked theory of a link between vaccines and autism.
Weldon told the New York Times that he was contacted on Wednesday by a White House official, who informed him that they did not have enough votes to get him confirmed in the Senate.
The candidacy was withdrawn just minutes before Weldon’s Senate hearing was due to begin.
The CDC is under the Department of Health, which is headed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
According to the newspaper, Kennedy is said to be very disappointed by the decision to withdraw Weldon’s candidacy.