In a surprise move, the White House on Thursday withdrew its nomination of David Weldon, from Florida, to head the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Weldon's nomination hearing was cancelled by the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee following the withdrawal.
Also read | Why Trump naming David Weldon as CDC chief worries public health experts?
United States President Donald Trump named former Republican congressman and vaccine critic Dave Weldon in November last year. Weldon has long questioned the safety of vaccines and has been part of anti-vaccine campaigns as well. Trump's pick for CDC chief had raised many eyebrows and it was criticised by many health experts.
Reportedly, the US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had raised concerns about Trump's CDC director pick.
Apparently, Weldon lacked the votes needed for Senate confirmation. It is the first time the Trump administration has withdrawn a nominee from consideration this term.
The White House withdrawal comes as the US is staring at rising measles cases, bird flu and widening outbreaks in West Texas and New Mexico.
Weldon, 71, was the founding member of the Congressional Autism caucus and as a representative to the US House from 1995 to 2009, he introduced two bills raising the safety related to childhood vaccines.
Health experts worried that his appointment as CDC chief would jeopardise the whole process of tackling vaccine-preventable diseases.
"It is a shock, but, you know, in some ways, it's a relief," Weldon said. "Government jobs demand a lot of you, and if God doesn't want me in it, I'm fine with that," Weldon was quoted by the New York Times.
CDC is in charge of vaccine recommendations and keeps track of the domestic and foreign threats to public health.
