White House Withdraws Nomination of Anthony Tata for Undersecretary of Defence for Policy

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Trump administration pulled the nomination of retired Army General Anthony Tata, under fire from lawmakers for past criticism of Islam, to take over a key Defence Department post, the White House said in a press release.

The release issued on Monday, dubbed "Withdrawals Sent to the Senate", named Tata but offered no explanation for the decision.

President Donald Trump nominated Tata for Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, the No. 3 post at the Defence Department.

Criticism of Tata centered on a series of past statements hostile to Islam and for once calling former President Barack Obama a "terrorist leader", according to a letter from ten Democratic Senators urging the nominee to withdraw.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair James Inhofe canceled Tata’s confirmation hearing last week when it became clear that the nominee lacked Republican votes needed to be confirmed, according to media reports.

Instead of facing confirmation, Trump reportedly plans to name Tata as Acting Undersecretary of Defence in a move to bypass the Senate, the reports said.