Trump administration’s nominee Robert Weaver withdrew his name Wednesday from consideration to lead the Indian Health Service, which comes after a report that he misrepresented his work experience.
“Mr. Weaver is no longer the Administration’s nominee for Director of the Indian Health Service,” a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed to CNN. The spokesperson would not elaborate when asked why Weaver was no longer the nominee.
Trump had first nominated Weaver last October.
In a resume he gave to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Weaver said he worked in financial “supervisory and management positions” at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Missouri, The Wall Street Journal reported in January.
However, former hospital employees didn’t recognize Weaver’s name, or believed he worked in an entry-level position collecting co-pays and insurance information, the newspaper reported.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, who is the committee’s vice chair, confirmed to CNN the information Weaver sent to the committee.
When questions arose last month about his qualifications, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in a statement to CNN, “The suggestion that Mr. Weaver is unqualified to be Director of the Indian Health Service is nothing but an attempt at pure character assassination.”
The Journal also reported that Weaver had mismanaged finances of a former employer, putting the company in financial trouble when he left in 2008.
Weaver is the latest of Trump’s nominees to withdraw consideration for a government agency leadership role.
Sen. Udall’s office told CNN it has not received formal notice that Mr. Weaver has withdrawn his nomination.
The New Mexico Democrat called Weaver’s move “appropriate given the serious questions recently raised about his suitability to lead a vitally important health agency.”
“Now the Trump administration must honor its trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives and nominate — and fully vet — a director with the strongest possible combination of leadership and fiduciary skills as well as experience running a large public health system,” Udall said in a statement.
He is urging the Trump administration to seek input from Native American tribes to select a replacement nominee.
