In an abrupt about-face, the Trump administration has pulled the nomination of a director-level official just hours before he was set to participate in his first committee hearing before U.S. senators on Thursday.
The rescinding of Dave Weldon for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director partly clears the schedule of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
In a statement announcing the cancellation of Weldon’s hearing, the committee confirmed it will proceed with confirmation hearings for Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for National Institutes of Health director and Dr. Marty Makary for Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“It became clear that the votes weren’t there in the Senate for him to get confirmed. This would have been a futile effort,” a source familiar with the administration’s thinking told Fox News. No official reason for Weldon’s removal has yet been given.
In a bit of hasty miscommunication, Weldon appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday ready to testify. The Wall Street Journal reported that he was unaware his nomination had been pulled, but an administration official insists he was informed last night.
Weldon, a physician by trade, represented Florida’s 15th Congressional District from 1995 to 2009. He has