Vincent Viola has withdrawn his name as the nominee for Secretary of the Army in Donald Trump’s cabinet, as reported by The Hill. Viola, who is the founder of trading firm Virtu Financial Inc. and owner of the Florida Panthers, reportedly withdrew after severing his business ties proved to be too difficult.
Viola is the first Trump nominee to withdraw his name from consideration for a cabinet post, which is unusual this early in an administration. Bloomberg reported the primary cause for his exit was that he had difficulty cutting himself off from his businesses and did not want details to be discussed in an ethics hearing. As they say,
“The full extent of Viola’s financial holdings and ownership stakes in other companies would’ve been detailed in ethics and financial disclosure forms to be filed as the nomination process unfolded. Without them, it’s difficult to know what business arrangements tripped him up. This is the first Trump nominee to withdraw from consideration.”
Viola was a West Point graduate and had served in the Army Infantry in the 101st Airborn Division. But he made his claim to fame when he founded trading firm Virtu Financial in 2008, which then went public in 2015. The White House has yet to comment on Viola’s exit.