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Vincent Viola enters Trump Tower on Dec. 16.
Andrew Kelly / Reuters
President Trump's nominee to head up the US Army has abruptly withdrawn his name from consideration.
Billionaire Vincent Viola, 60, dropped out as the nominee for secretary of the Army on Friday, Military Times reported. Sources also told Bloomberg that Viola was withdrawing.
In a statement to the Military Times, Viola expressed support for Trump, but said that he would have been unable to navigate the nomination process.
Trump tapped Viola to serve as Army secretary in December. Observers then quickly noted that his extensive business ties could potentially create conflicts of interest.
The White House did not immediately return a BuzzFeed News request for comment or say who might replace Viola as nominee for Army secretary.
Viola, a Brooklyn native, served in the 101st Airborne Division during Vietnam. He later went on to a career on Wall Street and in 2008 founded electronic trading company Virtu Financial, which ultimately made him a billionaire.
In 2013, Viola bought the Florida Panthers NFL team for $160 million.
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