Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is out of the running for a position in the new presidential administration, Donald Trump's transition team announced on Friday.
Trump said Giuliani removed his name from consideration on Nov. 29 for a position in the administration. Giuliani has advocated to become the top U.S. diplomat, adding to the drama surrounding Trump’s deliberations over the secretary of state position.
Trump had a well-publicized dinner with former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Nov. 29 as well.
“This is not about me; it is about what is best for the country and the new administration,” Giuliani said in a statement.
Giuliani had been a committed member of Trump’s campaign and served as his attack dog against opponents. He was vocal in calls to bring Hillary Clinton up on charges for her use of a private email server — which the FBI deemed was not a criminal action.
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Giuliani will remain a vice chairman of the presidential transition team, and then is expected to return to his law firm and the private sector.
“I will always be appreciative of his 24/7 dedication to our campaign after I won the primaries and for his extremely wise counsel,” Trump said. “He is and continues to be a close personal friend, and as appropriate, I will call upon him for advice and can see an important place for him in the administration at a later date."
When Giuliani’s name was first floated as a secretary of state pick, there were some who raised concerns of his potential conflicts of interest including his work for foreign governments that made him millions of dollars.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Preibus, in the statement announcing the decision, sought to head off this charge as a reason that Giuliani removed his name from consideration.
Preibus said the former mayor “was vetted by our team for any possible conflicts of interest and passed with flying colors.”
