White House withdraws nominee for Navy's No. 2 post

WASHINGTON — After languishing more than a year in political purgatory, the name of Jo Ann Rooney has been quietly withdrawn from consideration for undersecretary of the US Navy.

The White House made the announcement late Wednesday. Rooney's name was among two withdrawals in a list of 17 presidential nominees for various positions.

The move brings to a close a strange saga that began with her nomination on Sept. 11, 2013, for the Navy's No. 2 position, previously held by Bob Work, who stepped down in March 2013.

Rooney, 54, is a two-time small college president and former tax attorney who had been tapped to succeed Work in what can be one of the most powerful and influential jobs in the Navy. But she has limited Washington experience, and her Senate confirmation hearing last Oct.10 went poorly, particularly under questioning from Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

McCain — expected to become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee when the Republican majority is seated in January — dismissively told Rooney last fall, "I will not be supporting your nomination" after the nominee was unable to answer a question about the Navy's ability to perform a financial audit.

Meanwhile, Gillibrand took Rooney to task over chain-of-command and oversight questions about sexual harassment in the military, and placed a hold on the nomination. Gillibrand withdrew the hold after a few months and the nomination was sent to the full Senate on Jan. 9. There it was effectively pigeonholed, and was never brought to the floor for a vote.

Numerous attempts to contact Rooney have proved fruitless. Internet searches show Rooney is a director of The Bostonian Group, an insurance agency, and is a managing director of the Huron Consulting Group in Chicago.