Saule Omarova, Democrat President Joe Biden’s nominee for comptroller of the currency, has withdrawn her name from consideration for the position after facing increasing opposition to nomination over allegations that she was a Marxist.
“I am writing to you today with a request to withdraw my candidacy from further consideration for the position of the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency,” Omarova said in a statement. “It was a great honor and a true privilege to be nominated by President Biden to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency overseeing the U.S. national banking system.”
She added that it she withdrew her name from consideration because “at this point in the process … it is no longer tenable for me to continue as a Presidential nominee.”
Omarova, who was born in Kazakhstan when it was a part of the Soviet Union, received intense bipartisan opposition from U.S. Senators as she sought to be confirmed.
At least five Democrat Senators opposed Omarova, including Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
Controversy that Omarova sparked included:
- The Daily Wire: “Saule Omarova, Democrat President Joe Biden’s Marxist-friendly nominee to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said earlier this year that she wants oil and gas companies to go bankrupt, which comes as Americans face surging gas prices.”
- The Daily Wire: “[Omarova] failed to provide her thesis about Karl Marx to the Senate Banking Committee.”
- The Daily Wire: “[In 2019, Omarova] appeared to long for the glory days of the USSR because it had no apparent gender wage gap.”
- The Free Beacon: “Omarova … was arrested after she was caught stuffing $214 worth of clothes, shoes, cologne, and belts in her purse at a T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wis., in May 1995. Omarova was 28 years old at the time and studying for her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin.”
- The Free Beacon: “[Omarova] received a scholarship named for Vladimir Lenin and praised the Soviet Union for paying the sexes equally.”
- The Free Beacon: “[Omarova] scrubbed her résumé of a reference to a thesis she wrote on Karl Marx while a student at Moscow State University.”
- The Free Beacon: “[Omarova] is a fellow at a think tank that one of the Chinese government’s propaganda agencies has touted as helpful to Beijing’s foreign influence efforts.”
- The Free Beacon: [Omarova] told a Senate panel that she supports putting government officials on bank boards.”
Biden defended his Marxist-friendly nominee in a statement accepting her resignation on Tuesday, claiming without evidence that she was “subjected to inappropriate personal attacks that were far beyond the pale.”
“As a strong advocate for consumers and a staunch defender of the safety and soundness of our financial system, Saule would have brought invaluable insight and perspective to our important work on behalf of the American people,” he claimed.
This report has been updated to include additional information.