President Donald Trump plans to withdraw his nominee to be surgeon general just one day before Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat was scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, according to three people familiar with the decision granted anonymity to discuss the matter.
The decision to pull Nesheiwat comes after reports that she obfuscated facts about her medical education. Conservative activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, seized on the controversy in recent days and encouraged him to pick someone else.
“@DoctorJanette is not ideologically aligned with Donald Trump or his admin’s health initiatives,” Loomer posted on X on Monday. “How can she be confirmed in front of the US Senate on Thursday? She can’t.”
The news was first reported by Bloomberg News. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nesheiwat would be the third high-profile nominee Trump has pulled. His first pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, former Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), was withdrawn in March. Trump withdrew New York GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations later that month.
Two other nominees, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Trump’s first pick to lead the Justice Department, and Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister, his first choice to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, withdrew on their own.
Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.
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