GOP's Judd Gregg Withdraws Commerce Secretary Nomination

Rachel Weiner of the Huffington Post has New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg's full statement concerning his withdrawal of his nomination to serve as commerce secretary:

I want to thank the president for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as secretary of commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.

However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me, as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately, we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.

Obviously, the president requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.