Washington: US President Barack Obama's
embattled choice to head the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) charged with aviation security said on Wednesday
he was withdrawing from consideration for the post.
"I have decided, after deep reflection and in
consultation with my family and friends to respectfully
withdraw my name from consideration for confirmation," Erroll
Southers said in a statement released by the White House.
The move left the agency without a permanent chief at a
time when it is grappling with failures leading up to the
thwarted Christmas Day bomb plot in which a Nigerian man
boarded a packed US-bound airliner alleged with explosives
sewn into his underwear.
Southers, whose confirmation had been blocked by Obama's
Republican foes in the US Senate, blamed "political ideology"
fueled bitter opposition to his nomination and made no mention
of the controversy over how he inappropriately accessed a
federal database in the late 1980s in possible violation of
privacy laws.
"It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning
rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at
the risk of the safety and security of the American people.
This partisan climate is unacceptable and I refuse to allow
myself to remain part of their dialogue," said Southers.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 22:07