REPORT: Trump’s Navy Secretary Nominee To Withdraw

Remember the thing that Sean Spicer screamed “100% won’t happen”? Well, it’s happening:

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Navy secretary, investor Philip Bilden, is expected to withdraw from consideration, sources familiar with the decision told POLITICO, becoming the second Pentagon pick unable to untangle their financial investments in the vetting process.

Bilden’s withdrawal could come as early as today, the sources said. Bilden, who built his career in Hong Kong with the investment firm HarbourVest, was a surprise pick for the Navy post but had had been Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ preferred candidate.

Yet like billionaire investment banker Vincent Viola, who withdraw his nomination to be secretary of the Army earlier this month, Bilden ran into too many challenges during a review by the Office of Government Ethics to avoid potential conflicts of interest, the sources said.