Dave Weldon

David Joseph Weldon (born August 31, 1953) is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in Florida's 2012 U.S. Senate race.

On November 22, 2024, Donald Trump nominated Weldon as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who requires Senate confirmation. His nomination has drawn attention for his promotion of the scientifically disproved claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism, critiques of federal health agencies, and his emphasis on safeguarding personal freedoms in public health policy. Trump withdrew his nomination on March 13, 2025.

Early life, education, and career

Weldon was born in Amityville, New York on Long Island to Anna (née Mallardi) and David Joseph Weldon Sr. He graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1971 and Stony Brook University in 1978. He earned his M.D. degree at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine in 1981.

Weldon served in the United States Army from 1981 to 1987 and the United States Army Reserve from 1987 until 1992. He practiced as a physician in Florida.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In the 1994 elections, Weldon decided to run in Florida's 15th congressional district, vacated by Democratic U.S. congressman Jim Bacchus. He was one of seven Republicans to file for the primary. On September 8, he ranked first with 24% of the vote, but failed to reach the 50% threshold to win outright. In the October 4 run-off election, he defeated Carole Jean Jordan 54–46%. In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Sue Munsey 54–46%.

In 1996, he won re-election to a second term defeating John L. Byron 51–43%. In 1998, he won re-election to a third term with 63% of the vote. In 2000, he won re-election to a fourth term with 59% of the vote. In 2002, he won re-election to a fifth term with 63% of the vote. In 2004, he won re-election to a sixth term with 65% of the vote.

Former presidential candidate Bob Bowman, a Democrat, challenged Weldon in 2006. The incumbent raised significantly more campaign funds than Bowman. By the end of September, Weldon's total was $673,321 versus $21,944 for Bowman. Weldon also refused to debate Bowman during the campaign. In the November election, Weldon received 125,596 votes to Bowman's 97,947. Weldon won re-election to a seventh term with 56% of the vote.

On January 25, 2008, Weldon announced he would not seek an eighth term and would be returning to his medical practice, with a spokesperson explaining that " never wanted to be a career politician." He endorsed state senator Bill Posey to succeed him.

Tenure

In 2004, Weldon introduced the Weldon Amendment to an appropriations measure. The amendment prevents healthcare programs receiving federal funding from requiring healthcare entities (including doctors, hospitals, and health insurance plans) to provide, pay for, or refer for abortion services. The amendment has been included in annual appropriations bills since 2005.

In response to the legal battle over the removal of the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo, Weldon introduced legislation to force review of the case by the federal government. Weldon, who has a medical degree, believed that Schiavo was not in a vegetative state. He supported his belief saying, "She responds to verbal stimuli, she attempts to vocalize, she tracks with her eyes, she emotes, she attempts to kiss her father."

In December, 2005, Weldon joined with several other congressmen to form the Second Amendments, a rock and country band set to play for United States troops stationed overseas over the holiday season. Weldon plays the bass guitar.

During his tenure in Congress, Weldon promoted the disproven claim that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once used in some vaccines, was linked to an increase in autism. In 2007, he introduced legislation aimed at transferring vaccine safety oversight from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to an independent agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He cited concerns about the integrity of the federal vaccine safety review process, stating there were conflicts of interest and inadequate research funding as reasons for introducing the bill. Weldon has publicly questioned the safety of specific vaccines, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV).

Weldon was a vocal advocate for medical privacy rights, sponsoring legislation to limit government access to patient health records without consent.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Appropriations
** Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
** Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
* Committee on Science
*Committee on Education and the Workforce
* Committee on Banking and Currency
* Committee on Government Reform

Caucus memberships

*Republican Study Committee
*Congressional Aerospace Caucus (Co-founder and chair)
*Congressional Israel Allies Caucus (Co-founder and chair)

2012 U.S. Senate election

Weldon decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2012 in the hope of facing Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. His opponent in the Republican primary was U.S. representative Connie Mack IV. Weldon ran as a Christian conservative, and trailed Mack in both funding and name recognition. He lost the Republican primary with 20% of the vote, coming in second behind Mack's 59%. Mack went on to lose the general election to Nelson, 42%-55%.

2024 Florida House of Representatives election

Weldon ran for Florida's 32nd House of Representatives district in 2024 against state senator Debbie Mayfield, losing the primary 35% to 65%.

Post-politics

Weldon has a medical practice at Health First Medical Group in Malabar, Florida.

In 2017, he became the president of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, a trade group for Christian organizations that offered an alternative to traditional health insurance.

CDC director nomination

On November 22, 2024, Donald Trump nominated Weldon as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who requires Senate confirmation. According to ''The Washington Post'', Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposed Weldon to the position. His nomination drew attention for his promotion of the scientifically disproved claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism, his critiques of the CDC and federal health officials, his position that abstinence was the most effective way to curb sexually transmitted infections, and the fact that he lacked training or experience in public health, including running an organization as large as the CDC. Anti-vaccine activists and groups celebrated his nomination. Trump withdrew his nomination in March 2025.

Views

Weldon has promoted the scientifically disproved claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism. In 2016, he appeared in the anti-vaccine movie ''Vaxxed''; the conspiracy moviemaker, discredited doctor, and fraudulent anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield touted Weldon as his ideal choice as the CDC director in Trump's first presidency. In a 2019 appearance on a TV show broadcast by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Weldon falsely claimed "some children can get an autism spectrum disorder from a vaccine". Weldon has called himself a supporter of vaccines and has voiced support of COVID-19 vaccines.

See also

* 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

References

External links

Congressman Dave Weldon
''official U.S. House website''
Dave Weldon for Congress
''official campaign website''
*
*
Online Focus: U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon
(interview re: stem cell research), Public Broadcasting Service (August 9, 2004)
Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D.
testimony before the Institute of Medicine Immunization Safety Review Committee, SafeMinds (January 11, 2001)

''Presidential Nomination to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at Congress' official website''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Dave
1953 births
Living people
People from Indialantic, Florida
University at Buffalo alumni
People from Amityville, New York
Stony Brook University alumni
United States Army officers
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
Candidates in the 2012 United States elections
20th-century American physicians
United States Army reservists
Second Trump administration personnel
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
American anti-vaccination activists
Thiomersal and vaccines