Obama's Choice for Ambassador to Mexico Withdraws Her Name

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — President Barack Obama's choice to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico has withdrawn her name from consideration.

Maria Echaveste cited a prolonged confirmation process as well as her family's best interests, the White House said.

Obama nominated Echaveste last September. She had yet to receive a confirmation hearing in the Senate.

Maria Echaveste, Obama's pick for ambassador to #Mexico withdraws her nomination. https://t.co/SGbvXEXdfk

— Franc Contreras (@FrancMex) January 31, 2015

A graduate of Stanford University and Berkeley Law School, Echaveste was deputy chief of staff and a presidential assistant during the Clinton administration. When Hillary Rodham Clinton was secretary of state, she appointed Echaveste a special representative to Bolivia.

Echaveste is a partner in the consulting firm Nueva Vista Group in San Francisco. A native of Texas who grew up in California, Echaveste would have been the first American woman to be ambassador to Mexico.

Her withdrawal was first reported by Politico.

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