Culture

Rudy Giuliani Is No Longer In The Running To Become Donald Trump’s Secretary Of State

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Longtime Donald Trump advocate Rudy Giuliani has reportedly removed himself from consideration for a cabinet role, according to CNN. The former New York mayor, who was a favorite by insiders and cable news pundits alike for the top job at the State Department, turned against his own recent musings about the top secretary position and announced his decision via an official statement by Trump and a phone interview with Fox News.

In the statement, as summarized by CNN, President-elect Trump praised Giuliani’s ongoing support for his candidacy, nomination and forthcoming presidency:

“Rudy Giuliani is an extraordinarily talented and patriotic American. 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 in the statement. “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.”

Trump went on to assert Giuliani “would have been an outstanding member of the Cabinet in several roles,” but never explicitly stated which role the transition team had vetted the former Republican presidential candidate for. Embattled Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, however, did note that Giuliani had passed the team’s vetting process “with flying colors.”

Giuliani will remain a part of the Presidential Transition Team — serving under Vice President-elect Mike Pence as the group’s vice chairman. Yet despite the statement’s claim that Giuliani had removed himself from consideration back in November, a point he himself confirmed in a phone interview with Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto — CNN suggested a prior unconfirmed report that the ex-New York mayor “was told he would not get the secretary of state position this week.” As for what happened, rumors abound.

Perhaps former Republican presidential nominee and frequent Trump critic Mitt Romney still has a chance, no? Check out the full statement below from ABC News.

(Via CNN, Fox News and ABC New)