Jeremy Carl: Trump's pick for state department role withdraws after backlash over past 'anti-Israel' and race remarks [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Trump’s pick for state department role withdraws after backlash over past ‘anti-Israel’ and race remarks

Failure to appoint Jeremy Carl is a rare setback for Trump, with Republican-controlled Senate mostly approving his appointments

David Smith in Washington
Wed 11 Mar 2026 05.09 GMT
Last modified on Wed 11 Mar 2026 05.11 GMT

Donald Trump’s nominee for a top diplomatic post has been withdrawn from consideration after a growing backlash over his past remarks on race and Jewish people left him without crucial Republican support.

Jeremy Carl, who had been tapped to serve as the assistant secretary of state for international organisations – a role overseeing US policy towards bodies such as the UN – announced on Tuesday that he was stepping aside after failing to secure unanimous backing from Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee.

In a statement posted on X, Carl thanked Trump and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, for their support but acknowledged that it would not be enough to secure confirmation.

“With unanimous opposition from Senate Democrats to my candidacy, we also needed the unanimous support of every GOP [Grand Old Party] senator on the Committee on Foreign Relations,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, at this time this unanimous support was not forthcoming.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/11/trump-state-department-pick-jeremy-carl-backlash