A controversial Trump administration pick for a top Pentagon post, retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, has been placed into a senior role days after his nomination hearing was canceled amid bipartisan opposition to his nomination.
The Pentagon said Sunday that Tata has withdrawn his nomination.
His nomination hearing was canceled Thursday.
“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,” Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said last week.
A Pentagon spokesperson said that Tata has formally withdrawn his nomination and “has been designated as the official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy reporting to the Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James Anderson.”
Tata, nominated to become the Department of Defense’s undersecretary of defense for policy, was scheduled to testify in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday. He was expected to face a tough nomination hearing after CNN’s KFile reported that he made numerous Islamophobic and offensive comments and promoted conspiracy theories.
