The White House has reportedly withdrawn Dave Weldon's nomination to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just hours before his Senate hearing Thursday.
Weldon was set to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Thursday to advance his nomination. However, multiple reports confirmed that the former congressman's nomination was revoked. Weldon has also had a long-standing career in internal medicine and has raised past concerns about certain vaccine side effects, which some outlets have speculated affected his nomination.
'The concern of many people is that big Pharma was behind this which is probably true.'
In a statement issued Thursday, Weldon said his nomination was rescinded because he did not have enough votes in the Senate.
"Twelve hours before my scheduled confirmation hearing in The Senate, I received a phone call from an assistant at the White House informing me that my nomination to be Director of CDC was being withdrawn because there were not enough votes to get me confirmed," Weldon said. "I then spoke to HHS Secretary Bobbie [sic] Kennedy who was very upset. He was told the same thing and that he had been looking forward to working with me at CDC. He said I was the perfect person for the job."
The Senate HELP Committee has a 12-11 partisan split with a Republican majority, meaning Weldon could afford to lose the vote of only one GOP senator on the committee. Weldon said that Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has voted to tank several of President Donald Trump's picks, ultimately had immovable reservations about the nominee.
"I had a very pleasant meeting with her 2 weeks prior where she expressed no reservation, but at my meeting with her staff on March 11 they were suddenly very hostile — a bad sign," Weldon said in the statement. "They repeatedly accus[ed] me of being 'antivax,' even though I reminded them that I actually give hundreds of vaccines every year in my medical practice."
Weldon also made the assumption that the HELP Committee's chairman, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, was going to vote against the nominee.
"Ironically, he is also an internist like me and I have known him for years and I thought we were friends," Weldon said. "But he too was also throwing around the claim that I was 'antivax' or that I believed that vaccines cause autism which I have never said. He actually once asked that my nomination be withdrawn."
Although his nomination was revoked due to lack of support, Weldon said the underlying actor was likely Big Pharma.
"The concern of many people is that big Pharma was behind this which is probably true," Weldon said. "They are hands-down the most powerful lobby organization in Washington DC giving millions of dollars to politicians on both sides of the aisle."
"I have learned the hard way," Weldon continued, "don't mess with Pharma."
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The Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence on Wednesday. Gabbard is the 14th member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet to be confirmed.
Although many considered Gabbard's DNI bid a long shot, the Senate confirmed her in a 52-48 vote. Notably, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against Gabbard's confirmation.
Although Gabbard shared heated exchanges with senators during her confirmation hearing in late January, one by one, the GOP got behind Trump's DNI pick.
"Miss Gabbard is a patriot," Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said. "She's someone who's been motivated by service. ... The intelligence community needs to refocus on its core mission, collecting intelligence and providing unbiased analysis of that information. That's what Tulsi Gabbard is committed to ensuring."
Although Gabbard shared heated exchanges with senators during her confirmation hearing in late January, one by one, the GOP got behind Trump's DNI pick.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Monday night that she would vote to confirm Gabbard after she voted to invoke cloture on her nomination.
"I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence," Murkowski said. "While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security."
"As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected," Murkowski added.
Gabbard also secured support from Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has previously been a holdout on other nominees like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
"After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence," Collins said in a statement. "As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence Community."
Ahead of the Senate Intelligence Committee's vote to advance Gabbard's nomination to the Senate floor, Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana also publicly committed to supporting Gabbard. Other Republicans like Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas gave less enthusiastic endorsements for Gabbard but nonetheless backed the nominee.
"President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence," Cassidy said in a statement Monday. "I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation."
"Having won the election decisively, I believe President Trump has earned the right to appoint his own cabinet, absent extraordinary circumstances," Cornyn said in a statement after Gabbard's hearing. "Therefore, it is my intention to consent to the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence."
While many were skeptical about her confirmation, Gabbard became another success story for the Trump camp.
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Following a pair of heated hearings last week, the Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy's confirmation will now move to the Senate floor.
Kennedy managed to secure support from all 14 Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who expressed hesitancy about the nominee following the hearing. All 13 committee Democrats voted against Kennedy.
'20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000. NOW IT’S 1 in 34.'
"I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning," Cassidy said Tuesday. "I want to thank VP JD specifically for his honest counsel."
"With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes," Cassidy added.
Ahead of the vote, Trump reiterated support for Kennedy and his health advocacy.
"20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000," Trump said in a Tuesday post on Truth Social. "NOW IT’S 1 in 34. WOW! Something’s really wrong. We need BOBBY!!! Thank You! DJT."
Kennedy came under fire during his confirmation hearings last week, primarily over his views on vaccines. Kennedy reiterated that he is in favor of vaccines while also insisting that the science behind vaccines needs to be more thorough and transparent. Kennedy also called out hypocritical senators who harped on his health care views while also accepting money from Big Pharma.
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Senators confirmed environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary on Thursday.
The open letter still soliciting signatures is endorsed by 331 names as of Friday morning, but it lists no organization behind the effort.
Any honest examination of the Los Angeles wildfires indicts incompetent government leadership rather than climate change.
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