Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick

Rep. Dave Weldon's withdrawal was 'partly driven by concerns' about his 'longtime promotion of the false claim that vaccines can cause autism'

(Image credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images)

By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

published 14 March 2025

What happened

The White House Thursday withdrew the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a vaccine skeptic and former Florida congressmen, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Senate health committee announced Weldon's pulled nomination an hour before his confirmation hearing was scheduled to begin.

Who said what

Weldon said the White House told him Wednesday night there were "not enough votes to get me confirmed" in the Republican-led health committee. It was a "rare setback" for a Trump nominee in a Senate that has confirmed "every controversial choice brought to a full vote," The Washington Post said. Weldon's withdrawal was "partly driven by concerns about the political consequences" of his "longtime promotion of the false claim that vaccines can cause autism," especially during a growing measles outbreak that's "become a cautionary tale for the consequences of low immunization rates."

Weldon would have been the "first CDC director nominee to have to go through Senate confirmation — the result of a provision in a law passed during the Biden administration," The Associated Press said. Had he been confirmed, Weldon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a fellow vaccine skeptic, would have wielded enormous control over U.S. vaccine policy.

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What next?

It is "unclear" if the White House has a "backup candidate" in mind, The New York Times said. The CDC is being led in the interim by acting director Dr. Susan Monarez, recently the deputy director of the HHS's new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.