Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took himself out of contention for White House chief of staff on Friday as President Donald Trump's chaotic search for a new chief inched forward.

"It's an honor to have the president consider me," Christie said in a statement first reported on Twitter by The New York Times' Maggie Haberman. He goes on to say that "now is not the right time for me or my family to undertake this serious assignment. As a result I have asked him to no longer keep me in any of his considerations for this post."

Christie cited family reasons in a statement saying that he was asking Trump to remove him from consideration. He had met with Trump on Thursday to discuss the job, according to a person familiar with the meeting who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Jennifer Jacobs, a Bloomberg News reporter, tweeted that "Trump met with Christie last night upstairs in the residence after remarks at one of the White House Christmas parties. I’m told the mtg went very well. (BUT as always, Trump could change mind.)"

Christie was an early Trump supporter who led the president's White House transition until being ousted.

The president's hunt for a new chief reverted to square one over the weekend when Nick Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, took himself out of the running and decided that he would instead leave the White House. The announcement surprised even senior staffers who believed that Ayers' ascension was a done deal.

Trump then turned to a list of other candidates that was said to include Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Other possible options mentioned were U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, though both signaled they were happy in their current roles.

By Wednesday, Meadows was out of the running, with the White House saying Trump thinks he is needed in Congress.

Throughout the week, a number of other names were floated, including former Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, White House communications director Bill Shine and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It was not clear how many of those options were being taken seriously.

Material from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in compiling this report.