White House withdraws Boehler’s nomination after controversial Hamas remarks

The White House withdrew the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.

"Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statements cited by Reuters.

"Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home."

Boehler recently spoke with Hamas regarding the release of captives in Gaza, which sparked anger among Republicans and “Israeli” leaders.

Notably, he described Hamas as “nice guys” in statements to the press after finishing a round of direct talks with the Palestinian group, which was the first of its kind since the US designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.