In November 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.
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.[3] In the October 4 run-off election, he defeated Carole Jean Jordan 54–46%.[4] In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Sue Munsey 54–46%.[5]
In 1996, he won re-election to a second term defeating John L. Byron 51–43%.[6] In 1998, he won re-election to a third term with 63% of the vote.[7] In 2000, he won re-election to a fourth term with 59% of the vote.[8] In 2002, he won re-election to a fifth term with 63% of the vote.[9] In 2004, he won re-election to a sixth term with 65% of the vote.[10]
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.[11] Weldon also refused to debate Bowman during the campaign.[12] In the November election, Weldon received 125,596 votes to Bowman's 97,947.[13] Weldon won re-election to a seventh term with 56% of the vote.[14]
On January 25, 2008, claiming "He never wanted to be a career politician", Weldon announced he would not seek an eighth term and would be returning to his medical practice.[15] He endorsed state Senator Bill Posey to succeed him.
Tenure
In 2004, Weldon introduced the Weldon Amendment[16] 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. This prevents patients from being informed about all of their care options and disregrads ethical standards for medical care.[17] The amendment has been included in annual appropriations bills since 2005.[18][19]
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."[20]
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.[21]
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).[17][18][22][23] 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).[18][22][23]
Weldon was a vocal advocate for medical privacy rights, sponsoring legislation to limit government access to patient health records without consent.[24]
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%.
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.[18]
CDC Director
In November 2024, Donald Trump nominated Weldon as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who requires Senate confirmation.[26] According to The Washington Post, Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposed Weldon to the position.[27] 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.[18] Anti-vaccine activists and groups celebrated his nomination.[28][27][29]
Views
Weldon has promoted the scientifically disproved claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism.[18][28][27] In 2016, he appeared on the anti-vaccine movie Vaxxed; the moviemaker and 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.[27]
