Herman Cain withdraws from doomed Fed nomination

Herman Cain's Federal Reserve Board nomination is officially dead — and before it ever actually became official.

Trump on Monday said that Cain has "asked me not to nominate him" for the Federal Reserve Board seat, with the president saying he will "respect his wishes" while praising Cain as a "great American."

This comes after four Senate Republicans expressed opposition to Cain's nomination, enough to sink his chances of being confirmed. Trump hadn't actually formally nominated Cain yet, though. Some Republicans in recent weeks reportedly made a "behind-the-scenes" play to get Trump to drop Cain, who during his 2012 presidential run denied allegations of sexual harassment and previously said he wasn't sure he would make it through the "cumbersome" vetting process.

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But the White House said it was up to Cain whether his nomination would proceed, even as it interviewed other candidates. Cain on April 17 told The Wall Street Journal he would not withdraw from consideration and was "very committed" to the process. "I don’t quit because of negative criticism," Cain said. "I don’t quit because of negative attacks. And I don’t quit because several senators have expressed reservations about my qualifications."