Mark Green withdraws as Trump’s Army secretary nominee, citing ‘false and misleading attacks’

The Trump administration’s second Army secretary nominee withdrew from consideration Friday amid mounting opposition to past comments he made about Islam, evolution and gender issues.

Mark E. Green, a firebrand Republican state senator in Tennessee and veteran of the Iraq War, said there can be no distractions in overseeing the military and blamed “false and misleading attacks against him” in a statement provided to the media. The Pentagon and the White House had no immediate reaction to his announcement, but it came hours after a Defense Department spokesman declined during a meeting with journalists to say whether Defense Secretary Jim Mattis still supported him for the job.

Green pulled out after a month of calls for the Trump administration to choose someone else. Advocacy groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people immediately launched an effort on Capitol Hill to block his nomination after it was announced April 7, saying his history of antagonism toward them made him an unacceptable choice.

Read Entire Story Here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/05/05/mark-green-withdraws-as-trumps-army-secretary-nominee-citing-false-and-misleading-attacks/