Former Gov. Chris Christie said "now is not the time" for him to be White House chief of staff.

Christie, who reportedly met Thursday with President Donald Trump about the position, issued a statement Friday saying he had asked not to be considered.

"It's an honor to have the president consider me," Christie said. "However, I've told the president that now is not the right time for me and my family to undertake this serious assignment."

A White House spokesman told reporters Friday that Trump was considering five candidates, but declined to answer direct questions about Christie.

Trump late Friday afternoon tweeted: "I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly."

Christie was one of the first major candidates to endorse Trump after ending his own bid for the Republican nomination in 2016. He served for a time as chairman of Trump's transition team, but was removed after Trump surprised pundits and won the election.

Since leaving office in Trenton in January, the former U.S. Attorney has had a private law practice and served as a commentator for ABC News.

While Christie is a Trump confidant, he was passed over for several positions he'd sought, starting with vice president, which went to then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. After the election, Christie was known to be seeking to be chief of staff, which initially went to Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, or attorney general, which went to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions.

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Christie has been working on a political memoir titled "Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics" that is due to be published on Jan. 29, according to amazon.com.

Depending on how he described his dealings with players in the Trump universe, the book could have made for some difficult situations if he were serving in the White House. But that was not the only factor auguring against him becoming chief of staff.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, reportedly has not forgiven Christie for being the federal prosecutor who sent Kushner's father to prison in 2004. In a 2014 interview, Jared Kushner called the pursuit of his father, whose crimes included witness intimidation for hiring a prostitute to sleep with and record a tryst with his brother-in-law and then sending the tape to his sister, "obviously unjust."

Trump said on Twitter Saturday that Kelly would be leaving by the end of the year. The president's first choice for Kelly's replacement, top Pence aide Nick Ayers, turned the job down and instead will run a super PAC working to ensure Trump's re-election in 2020.