Trump State Department Nominee Jeremy Carl Withdraws After Senate Establishment Withheld Support

Jeremy Carl pulled his name from consideration for a senior State Department post Tuesday.

The Claremont Institute senior fellow had faced a confirmation wall after a Republican senator announced his opposition.

Without unanimous GOP support on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his path to the floor was blocked.

Nomination Collapsed after RINO Senator Drug Up Old Podcast Answer

Carl had been nominated by President Trump to serve as assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs – the role that oversees U.S. policy at the United Nations and other multilateral bodies.

Republicans hold a 12-10 majority on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Under committee rules, a single GOP defection produces an 11-11 tie – and tie votes do not advance to the Senate floor.

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) announced after Carl's February confirmation hearing that he could not support the nomination.

Curtis cited an October 2024 podcast in which Carl was asked about a host's claim that Israel "is not a victim, but instead a perpetrator." Carl responded, "Right, right. Yeah, no, I mean, I think that's true."

When Curtis confronted Carl with those words at the hearing, Carl initially said he would need to review them. After Curtis confirmed they were accurate, Carl acknowledged they were his.

Curtis said afterward that Carl was not the "right person to represent our nation's best interests in international forums," pointing to what he described as anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people.

What Carl Said at the Hearing

Senators pressed Carl extensively on past writings and social media posts during his February confirmation hearing.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) questioned Carl about his references to "white identity" and what he believed was being erased from American culture.

Carl responded that mass immigration had "balkanized" what he described as majority American culture, and said he stood by those comments.

Murphy later called him a "legit white nationalist" on social media.

Carl pushed back, saying he is "not a White nationalist" and that his remarks referred to a broadly shared American culture that people of every background could embrace.

He is the author of the 2024 book The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart and has written on immigration and national identity at the Claremont Institute. He later described the confirmation hearing as "theatrical" and "brutal" in a piece published in The Spectator.

Carl's Statement

In announcing his withdrawal on X, Carl thanked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for backing him through a process he called "long and time-consuming."

He acknowledged the structural reality that ended his bid: every Democrat on the committee opposed him, Republicans held only a one-vote margin, and unanimous GOP support was required but not achieved.

"I accept that political reality, and do not wish to have the President, Secretary Rubio, or the rest of his team waste valuable time and energy attempting to change that decision," Carl wrote.

Trump and Rubio had continued to back Carl's nomination through the process. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Carl served as deputy assistant secretary of the Interior during Trump's first term.

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Sources:

• Eric Mack, "Trump nominee Jeremy Carl withdraws from State Department leadership role," Fox News, March 10, 2026.
• Staff, "Jeremy Carl withdraws as Trump State Department nominee after race comments," The Hill, March 10, 2026.
• Staff, "Trump nominee for State Department role drops out after his race comments jeopardized confirmation," Reuters, March 10, 2026.