The White House withdrew its nomination of former U.S. attorney Jessie Liu for a post at the Treasury Department earlier this week.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at a Senate hearing on Wednesday said that he learned about the withdrawal of Liu’s nomination “two days ago.”
Liu was scheduled for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday and would have become the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes. Trump had announced his intent to nominate her for the role in early December 2019 and her nomination was submitted to the Senate on Jan. 6. Axios reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources, that Liu was informed on Tuesday afternoon that Trump was pulling her nomination.
The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.
Attorney General Bill Barr appointed his adviser, Timothy Shea, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in late January, replacing Liu as she awaited her Senate confirmation. She had held the position since September 2017.
In late January, Barr said that Liu had “served with distinction” as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in a statement announcing Shea’s appointment to the position. He also expressed gratitude to Liu for having served in the role.
In that role, Liu oversaw a number of controversial prosecutions related to Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, including those against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Trump associate Roger Stone.
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