Weldon was told Wednesday night that his nomination was being withdrawn, another Trump administration official said.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.

Dave Weldon, President Trump's choice to lead the CDC, had in the past pushed a debunked link between the measles vaccine and autism.

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.