Stephen Moore's Fed nomination killed 30 minutes after he said it was 'full speed ahead'

President Trump on Thursday announced that Stephen Moore has withdrawn from consideration for the Federal Reserve Board — shortly after Moore said he wouldn't be withdrawing.

Moore in an interview Thursday morning said that he was "all in" on the process, adding that he "talked to the White House yesterday" and that they were "all in" as well, Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs reports. Moore also told reporter Joshua Green that his nomination was "full speed ahead" and that he wouldn't withdraw.

But just a half-hour after Green says Moore gave him that quote, Trump tweeted that Moore had decided to withdraw from consideration.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Moore had come under fire over controversial resurfaced columns, including one in which he wrote that women earning more than men might be "disruptive to family stability," and another in which he suggested female athletes wanted "equal pay for inferior work." He also wrote that women shouldn't be involved in men's basketball games unless they "look like Bonnie Bernstein." Moore said on Sunday that he is "apologetic" but that these were "humor columns."

In a letter to the president, Moore wrote that he is "respectfully asking that you withdraw my name from consideration" because "the unrelenting attacks on my character have become untenable for me and my family."

Trump had yet to formally nominate Moore for the Federal Reserve Board, although he had announced his intention to do so. This is the second of Trump's Fed picks to be withdrawn in the past few weeks, with Trump saying on April 22 that Herman Cain "asked me not to nominate him." Cain had also previously said he would not withdraw.