K.T. McFarland Withdraws Her Ambassadorship Nomination

K.T. McFarland, a former Trump deputy national security adviser nominated to serve as ambassador to Singapore, asked the White House on Friday to withdraw her nomination. In a letter to the president, McFarland said, “I have come to this decision reluctantly, because I believe in your mission.” In a statement, President Trump said that he was “disappointed” in her withdrawal and claimed that the “Democrats chose to play politics rather than move forward with a qualified nominee for a critically important role.” Her resignation comes as her nomination approval was originally stalled “over lingering concerns about her knowledge of contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian operatives.” Emails show that McFarland—a close friend of ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty as part of the special counsel’s Russia probe—knew about a crucial meeting between Flynn and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak, despite her testimony otherwise.