Eli Sharvit was a controversial choice after Israel’s prime minister fired his predecessor. Revelations that he wrote a column criticizing President Trump may have helped sink his chances.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reversed his nomination of a former naval commander to head Israel’s spy agency amid criticism from the US. Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday that the prime minister was withdrawing the nomination a day after he proposed Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit as the next chief of the domestic security service Shin Bet.

Netanyahu thanked Sharvit for accepting the nomination "but informed him that after further thought, he intends to examine other candidates", it said, giving no further reasons for the decision and naming no other candidate.