Hours before testifying before a Senate committee, the White House rescinded the nomination of vaccine skeptics and former Republican Rep. Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Weldon, 71, was scheduled to answer questions before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (Help) committee on Thursday, but a White House spokesman confirmed to the Post that the CDC pick is no longer under consideration.
The reversal came after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to Axios, who first reported on the candidate's withdrawal.
Weldon has previously raised questions about the link between vaccination and autism, identifying mercury as a potential cause.
The Florida Republican served in Congress from 1995 to 2009. And his vaccine skeptic video was word-of-mouthed on social media in anticipation of a confirmation fight pitched earlier this week.
While representing Sunshine State in the House, Weldon co-hosted the law to ban mercury in vaccines.
Kennedy, 71, was hit with similarly pointed interrogation lines for his stance on polio, measles and hepatitis B vaccines at his own confirmation hearing, but was later confirmed after winning approval from Assistance Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA.) and other Republicans.
