The Obama administration's choice to head the Transportation Security Administration has withdrawn his name from nomination after weeks of questions about whether he gave misleading answers to Congress regarding a reprimand he got for running background checks on his then-estranged wife's boyfriend in the late 1980s.

The Associated Press just reported that "in a statement, Erroll Southers says he is withdrawing because his nomination has become a lightning rod for those with a political agenda."

His statements about the background checks weren't the only obstacles in Southers' path. His nomination had been put on hold by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who has raised questions about whether Southers would allow TSA employees to join a labor union.