Gregg withdraws as Commerce nominee; blames ‘irresolvable conflicts’ with Obama after stimulus fight
Sen. Judd Gregg today shockingly pulled out as the Commerce Secretary nominee, blaming “irresolvable conflicts” in ideology with President Barack Obama, who had reached out across the aisle to nominate the N.H. Republican.
“…It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me,” Gregg said in a written statement released by his Senate office. “Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives,” Gregg said.
It reminds me of a saying that I first heard back in the 1980s when I was covering the Pinellas County Commission and the legendary Chuck Rainey. We were discussing efforts to broach a disagreement over water with Hillsborough County that had gone awry, and he said, “We held out an olive branch, and they beat us with it.”
Obama must feel that way today.
Here is the full text of Gregg’s statement.
