President Donald Trump‘s special envoy for hostage affairs has withdrawn his nomination, the White House announced late on Friday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Adam Boehler, who had been serving as the president’s envoy while he awaited Senate confirmation, withdrew his nomination but will still work on hostage negotiations as a “special government employee.”
A senior White House official told the Washington Post that Boehler chose to withdraw his nomination and work as a special government employee so he didn’t have to divest from his Nashville-based healthcare investment firm, Rubicon Founders.
In a statement announcing the withdrawal, Leavitt commended Boehler’s work thus far, specifically that of securing the release of Marc Fogel, an American school teacher who was freed from detention in Russia in early February.
“Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home,” she said.
Boehler’s withdrawal of his nomination comes after he faced the ire of Israeli officials for holding private talks with Hamas. He also said on CNN’s State of the Union that the U.S. is “not an agent of Israel.”
Boehler initially defended the U.S.-Hamas talks, saying they were necessary to “jump-start some negotiations that were in a very fragile place,” but walked back those comments after Israel inquired to Washington about his remarks.
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“I want to be CRYSTAL CLEAR as some have misinterpreted. Hamas is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of innocent people. They are BY DEFINITION BAD people,” he later said.
The hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas have progressed slightly after the terrorist group agreed to release the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, and the bodies of four dead hostages. On Saturday, Hamas revealed that Israel must adhere to a second phase of the ceasefire agreement in order to receive the hostages.