K.T. McFarland bows out of ambassador nomination

WASHINGTON—K.T. McFarland, a former top adviser to President Donald Trump, asked the White House on Friday to withdraw her nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore. McFarland served on Trump’s transition team and then as deputy national security adviser under Michael Flynn. Her former boss resigned last February for lying to the White House about conversations he had with Russian officials. McFarland left her post in May, just as the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election started heating up. Trump nominated her for the ambassador position soon after, but she never received a Senate confirmation vote. The White House renewed McFarland’s nomination in January, but on Friday she decided she no longer wanted to pursue the confirmation process. “I have come to the decision reluctantly, because I believe in your mission,” McFarland wrote in a letter to the president, according to Reuters. Trump lamented McFarland’s decision and criticized lawmakers for politicizing her appointment. “K.T. served my administration with distinction,” the president said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some Democrats chose to play politics rather than move forward with a qualified nominee for a critically important post.”