In announcing her decision, Penny Young Nance (pictured) did not address her criticisms of two Republican senators. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Conservative activist up for global women's issues ambassadorship withdraws from consideration

A prominent conservative activist is pulling out of contention for an ambassadorship after liberal groups aired protests against her and her criticism of Senate Republicans key to the confirmation process drew notice on Capitol Hill.

Penny Young Nance wrote in an op-ed for FoxNews.com that family and work considerations had led her to decide that now is not the time to become President Donald Trump’s ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues.


Nance is the president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian organization.

“I would be honored to serve my nation and President Trump; however, I do not feel God is leading me to leave Concerned Women for America at this time,” Nance wrote. “We have important work to do and are in a season of amazing growth. Most importantly, I have about 18 months left before my last child goes off to college. In Washington, one’s family is often used as an excuse, but I can assure I am sincere.”

The Trump administration has not confirmed that Nance was under consideration as an envoy. Capitol Hill sources told POLITICO earlier this year, though, that she was being vetted. Liberal-leaning groups such as Planned Parenthood spoke out against her potential nomination, saying she was the antithesis of what the ambassador position required.

In the op-ed, Nance pushed back at “fake news” about her beliefs, saying she was caricatured by leftist media. She wrote, for instance, “I don’t hate ‘Frozen,’” after reports quoted her as suggesting the popular film sent a dis-empowering message to boys and men.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

In the piece, Nance did not address her criticisms of Republican Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, whom she derided on Twitter after both spoke out against Trump. The two senators serve on the closely split Senate Foreign Relations Committee — Corker is the chairman — which traditionally gets the first vote on ambassador nominees.

In one tweet, Nance likened Flake to a “middle school girl” after he delivered a speech slamming the Republican president and announcing he would not seek re-election to the Senate.

Flake's office contacted the White House to discuss the tweets after POLITICO brought the matter to the office's attention, according to a GOP operative familiar with the issue.

In the op-ed, Nance wrote that she won’t rule out some role in the Trump administration “at a later season.”

“The left can relax for now,” she wrote, “but who knows about another day?”

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Penny Young Nance's name was misspelled in a photo caption.