The White House has pulled Joel Rayburn’s nomination to be assistant secretary of state for near Eastern affairs, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider on Monday.

A source familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking said Rayburn was withdrawn because “he did not have the votes.” 

“The administration will proceed in a different direction,” the source said of moving forward with a new nominee. 

Despite claims that Rayburn lacked the votes, the former Syria envoy’s nomination had been advanced to the full Senate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only committee Republican to come out against Rayburn’s nomination on the GOP side. 

That vote was made possible by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who crossed party lines to move Rayburn forward after his nomination had languished due to opposition from Paul and all committee Democrats.

Rayburn has been viewed critically by some isolationist figures, both within the administration and on Capitol Hill. Paul, a longtime critic of American engagement abroad, had said he was skeptical of Rayburn’s denials, including under oath at his confirmation hearing in May, that he had knowledge of efforts to mislead President Donald Trump about U.S. troop presence in Syria while serving as Syria envoy in the first Trump administration.

Votes to advance Rayburn’s nomination out of committee were repeatedly canceled over the summer as other committee Republicans and the White House lobbied Rosen and Paul to switch their respective positions. His nomination was first submitted to Congress in early February.