The White House withdrew the nomination of former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because he wasn't assured of getting enough Republican support to be confirmed.

Weldon was told Wednesday night that his nomination was being withdrawn, another Trump administration official said.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The White House has withdrawn its candidate to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just hours before he was set to testify before a Senate committee.