HHS/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Indian Health Service has withdrawn from consideration for the job, people familiar with the matter said.
The move by Robert Weaver, an 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… Mr. Weaver, 39 years old, a member of the Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma, was nominated to lead the agency in October.
The Indian Health Service, which provides care for more than two million Native Americans, hasn’t had a permanent leader since 2015. It has endured a series of crises over poor treatment of patients. Tribal lobbyists and advocates said they had heard rumors that the nominee had backed out starting last weekend. For some, the first confirmation came Wednesday [2-21-18]:The agency’s current acting director, Michael Weahkee, disclosed that Mr. Weaver had withdrawn to tribal leaders who were attending a meeting that afternoon of an IHS advisory panel in Reno, Nev., according to a person who was there…
An IHS spokeswoman declined to comment. Mr. Weaver didn’t respond to a request for comment.”
-Dan Frosch and Christopher Weaver, “Trump’s Nominee for Indian Health Post Withdraws,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 22, 2018 10:53am