Trump's rabidly anti-LGBTQ nominee for Army Secretary withdraws name from consideration

Mark Green released a statement Friday announcing that he is withdrawing his name from consideration for President Donald Trump's Army Secretary.

Green has become for the position with one PR disaster after another. The most recent of which came when news was released showing Green opposed universal health care because he thinks it would make churches useless. Green is most known for his role trying to legalize discrimination of LGBT people in the Tennessee state Senate. He was also caught on tape denying not only climate change but even Einstein's theory of relativity.

"To meet these challenges, there should be no distractions. And unfortunately, due to false and misleading attacks against me, this nomination has become a distraction," Green said in the statement.

"Tragically, my life of public service and my Christian beliefs have been mischaracterized and attacked by a few on the other side of the aisle for political gain," he continued. "While these false attacks have no bearing on the needs of the Army or my qualifications to serve, I believe it is critical to give the President the ability to move forward with his vision to restore our military to its rightful place in the world."

Green's nomination was a dramatic shift from President Barack Obama’s Army secretary, Eric Fanning, who was the first openly gay person to serve in the post.