WASHINGTON _ Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the combative and fiercely loyal Donald Trump surrogate who was widely expected to play a major role in the new administration, has taken himself out of the running for a Cabinet post.
The announcement from Trump's transition team came Friday, as the president-elect was still widely believed to be mulling Giuliani for the role of secretary of state or a major national security post. Giuliani appeared by Trump's side at many of his rallies during the campaign, and he has often been Trump's stand-in on the cable news networks and the Sunday television talk shows.
While more moderate when he was mayor of New York, Giuliani's politics took a hard turn toward the right in recent years. His support of Trump had been unflinching in the face of a Republican establishment that remained uneasy with the New York businessman up through Election Day. But Giuliani's uneven temperament and a history of incendiary remarks posed a challenge for Trump as he set out to assemble a Cabinet that assuages voter concerns about his own temperament.
Reince Priebus, who will be Trump's chief of staff, said Giuliani "was vetted by our team for any possible conflicts and passed with flying colors." He will continue to advise Trump and serve in the role of vice chairman of the transition.
"This is not about me; it is about what is best for the country and the new administration," Giuliani said in a statement. "Before I joined the campaign I was very involved and fulfilled by my work with my law firm and consulting firm, and I will continue that work with even more enthusiasm. From the vantage point of the private sector, I look forward to helping the president-elect in any way he deems necessary and appropriate."
Trump said in his statement that Giuliani " would have been an outstanding member of the Cabinet in several roles, but I fully respect and understand his reasons for remaining in the private sector."
