The White House has decided to withdraw the nomination of its pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Dave Weldon, a Republican former congressman, who was to have appeared at a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday morning, according to a White House official and an administration official.

Dr. Weldon, who learned of the decision last night, said he had been told by a White House official that “they didn’t have the votes to confirm” his nomination.

Dr. Weldon, 71, was scheduled to appear before the Senate health committee on Thursday at 10 a.m., the first time an agency director would have been subject to the confirmation process. The decision to withdraw the nomination was first reported by Axios.

Reached by phone, Dr. Weldon said he had been excited by the prospect of serving his country again and helping to restore the public’s confidence in the C.D.C.

He said had also been looking forward to working with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health secretary, on the “MAHA agenda” to curtail chronic diseases among Americans.

“It is a shock, but, you know, in some ways, it’s relief,” Dr. Weldon said. “Government jobs demand a lot of you, and if God doesn’t want me in it, I’m fine with that.”

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