Weldon was told Wednesday night that his nomination was being withdrawn, another Trump administration official said. The White House decided to pull Weldon’s nomination when it became clear that he would not have the votes to be favorably reported out of committee because of his past controversial comments about vaccines, the official said.

The White House’s bid to install a vaccine-skeptic ally of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. atop the CDC fell apart this week.

Hours before his scheduled Senate confirmation, the White House has withdrawn the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Weldon, a Republican and former congressman,