‘We Don’t Know Anything’: Senators Blindsided by Cancelled CDC Nomination

Dave Weldon’s nomination for CDC director was pulled by the White House less than an hour before he was set to appear before the senate committee.

Tommy Tuberville

Sen. Tommy Tuberville told reporters he’d learned of Weldon’s withdrawal “two minutes ago.” J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions were just as surprised as everyone else to learn that the White House had pulled Dave Weldon’s nomination for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Walking into the HELP committee hearing room a few minutes before the hearing on Weldon’s nomination was supposed to begin, Sen. Tommy Tuberville told reporters he’d learned of Weldon’s fate “two minutes ago.”

“We don’t know anything. We’ll find out,” Tuberville said.