White House unexpectedly withdraws Trump's pick for CDC director

On March 13, the White House withdrew the nomination of Mr. Dave Weldon, who was chosen by US President Donald Trump as the candidate for Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The decision to withdraw Mr. Dave Weldon's nomination was made just hours before he had a Senate hearing - a mandatory process for senators to consider and vote to approve Mr. Weldon for the position of Director of the US CDC.

Axios on March 13 quoted informed sources revealing that US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy said that Mr. Weldon "was not ready".

Mr. David Weldon speaks at an event in 2012.

When President Trump nominated Mr. Dave Weldon - 72 years old, former congressman of Florida (USA) - to be Director of CDC, observers said that this was a name that could encounter a lot of controversy, because Mr. Weldon had a stance against using vaccines. Mr. Trump wrote on social media at the time of announcing Mr. Weldon's nomination a few months ago: "Mr. Weldon will restore CDC to its true purpose and will work to end chronic disease and make America healthy again."

President Trump has yet to respond to the incident. Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Mr. Weldon received a decision from the US government on the evening of March 12 (US time). Accordingly, a White House official said that Mr. Weldon would not have enough votes to be approved by the Senate.

"It was a shock, but in some ways it was a relief. Government work requires a lot of personal effort, and if God doesn't want me to do it, that's fine," Weldon told The New York Times .

Mr. Weldon is an internist who served in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009. He has made notable statements regarding mercury in vaccines.

Some Americans are hesitant to take vaccines because of concerns about thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that is added to vaccines to prevent the growth of fungi and bacteria. However, many studies have found no harmful effects of thimerosal in small doses in vaccines. However, the CDC has removed thimerosal from childhood vaccines since 2001.

“There remain legitimate concerns regarding the association between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism,” Weldon said in a 2007 statement. However, numerous studies have found no link between vaccines and autism.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-trang-bat-ngo-rut-lai-de-cu-giam-doc-cdc-duoc-ong-trump-lua-chon-185250313205638352.htm