Ex-Trump campaign official withdraws nomination for ag post
WASHINGTON — A former Trump campaign official linked to the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller has withdrawn his nomination as the Agriculture Department’s chief scientist.
Sam Clovis, a former Trump campaign national co-chairman and chief policy adviser, wrote in a letter Thursday to President Donald Trump that he does “not want to be a distraction or a negative influence.”
Questions had been raised about Clovis’ qualifications for the administration post. He is a self-described skeptic of climate change.
Republicans were preparing to hold a hearing on his nomination next week. But it was revealed this week that Clovis had communications with George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who has admitted to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries last year.