(Bloomberg) -- Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general and Fox News commentator, withdrew his nomination to be the Pentagon's policy chief after the Senate Armed Services Committee canceled his scheduled hearing last week.
President Donald Trump had nominated Tata to be undersecretary of defense for policy. Instead, the Pentagon said in a statement, he has been designated as the official “performing the duties” of the deputy undersecretary for policy. That doesn't require Senate confirmation.
Tata's nomination has been dogged by controversy over his past remarks, including derogatory comments about Islam and his assertion that former President Barack Obama was a terrorist leader. Tata's previous remarks prompted a number of anti-discrimination groups to publicly call on the Senate to reject his nomination.
Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services panel, told reporters last week that “there are many Democrats and Republicans who didn't know enough about Anthony Tata to consider him for a very significant position at this time.”
The top Democrat on the committee, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, said “It's fair to say members on both sides of the aisle have raised serious questions about this nominee.”
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