Trump nominee who pushed white supremacist propaganda backs out of consideration

A controversial Trump administration nominee who promoted white supremacist propaganda has announced he's withdrawing from consideration.

Jeremy Carl, Trump's pick to serve as assistant secretary of state for international organizations, has an extensive history of inflammatory statements on social media, including claiming that Jan. 6 rioters were treated worse than Black Americans under Jim Crow, and that the head of the American Federation of Teachers should be executed.

The biggest issue, however, was his embrace of white nationalism, claiming that "white identity" is under threat in America. Under intense questioning by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) during a hearing, Carl was unable to define what "white identity" even means.

Recognizing he had no path to confirmation after that dressing down, Carl announced in a post to X on Tuesday that he is stepping aside.

"I am tremendously grateful to President Trump for nominating me and then (upon expiration of my original nomination) renominating me for this role, and I am also grateful to Secretary Rubio and his team for their continued support throughout this long and time-consuming process," wrote Carl. "Unfortunately, for senior positions such as this one, the support of the President and Secretary of State is very important but not sufficient. We also needed the unanimous support of every GOP Senator on the Committee on Foreign Relations, given the unanimous opposition of Senate Democrats to my candidacy, and unfortunately, at this time this unanimous support was not forthcoming."

Carl added that many Republican senators privately told him they were frustrated they couldn't move him forward, and the issue lay with a handful of "problem senators" who should answer to MAGA voters in primaries.

"I remain extremely confident in President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the rest of the outstanding team at State (a group of leaders that includes many close friends)," Carl said. "I know they will continue to pursue a foreign policy that puts America first, and that they will work to ensure America is able to exercise its power and influence in the world like never before."