Trump’s Anti-Vax Pick for CDC Flops Hard—Even RFK Jr. Couldn’t Save Him
Turns out, there is a limit to how far down the anti-vax rabbit hole you can go—even for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a move that surprised no one paying attention to reality, the White House yanked Dr. Dave Weldon’s nomination to lead the CDC just hours before his Senate hearing.
Weldon, a former Florida congressman with a long history of pushing anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, was a dream pick for Trump’s war on public health. But even some Republicans—including Sen. Bill Cassidy (a doctor himself!)—weren’t willing to rubber-stamp a guy who once tried to strip the CDC of its vaccine safety oversight.
Weldon, still deep in the denial phase, blamed his demise on Big Pharma and swore RFK Jr. was “very upset” over the withdrawal. “He said I was the perfect person for the job,” Weldon claimed—because apparently, the head of the nation’s leading public health agency should believe vaccines cause autism.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wasn’t shedding any tears:
“During one of the worst measles outbreaks in years because of Trump, Weldon should NEVER have even been under consideration to lead CDC.”
Given that the measles outbreak has already killed at least two people, including an unvaccinated child, it’s not hard to see why public health experts breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Trump’s next pick won’t be just as bad or even worse—his administration is already purging vaccine research grants and planning a CDC study to dredge up the long-debunked “vaccines cause autism” myth. Weldon might be gone, but the war on public health marches on.
The only question now: Who’s next in line for the Trump clown car of unqualified appointees?
Source: Mother Jones