Indian Health Services Nominee Withdraws Name Following Reports He Exaggerated Work Experience
In one example, Robert Weaver said he had held leadership roles at a large hospital; however, some of his former colleagues and supervisors said his role there was as a registration clerk. IHS, which provides care for more than two million Native Americans, hasn’t had a permanent leader since 2015.
The New York Times:
Trump’s Pick To Lead Indian Health Service Withdraws Nomination
President Trump’s nominee to lead the Indian Health Service has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Humans Services said Wednesday. The withdrawal of the nominee, Robert Weaver, follows Wall Street Journal reports that said he had inaccurately represented his qualifications to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs after his nomination in October. Mr. Weaver joins a growing list of Trump nominees who have withdrawn from consideration after questions arose about their fitness for their assigned posts. (Baumgaertner, 2/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump’s Nominee For Indian Health Post Withdraws
The move by Robert Weaver, a former insurance broker, comes after The Wall Street Journal published two articles earlier this year in which former colleagues alleged he had in some cases exaggerated his work experience and left a former employer in financial disarray. In one case, Mr. Weaver said he had held leadership roles at a large hospital; however, some of his former colleagues and supervisors said his role there was as a registration clerk. (Frosch and Weaver, 2/21)
CQ:
Indian Health Nominee No Longer Under Consideration
Weaver came to the administration’s attention after a meeting last February with his congressman, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who is leading a bipartisan House task force to examine IHS. Mullin suggested to Weaver that he should apply for the job, and starting last March Weaver made monthly $500 contributions to the Trump campaign until October, when he was formally nominated for the position. Weaver only disclosed the initial $500 contribution in his paperwork for the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee, which was handling his nomination. (Siddons, 2/21)
