Lawmakers unexpectedly revoked Donald Trump's confirmation hearing last week citing questions raised about his unfitness for the role. Following this move, the president installed a nominee for a top Pentagon job in a senior Department of Defense post, but not on a permanent basis.

Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, who is a novelist and has served a state government official in the past, withdrew from consideration to be undersecretary of defense for policy on Sunday. This position requires a confirmation from the Senate, according to a statement the Pentagon emailed to POLITICO over the weekend.

He has been assigned the position of an official, performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense policy. The position Tata is slated to assume was originally confirmed to be held by James H. Anderson, who has been serving as acting undersecretary of defense policy and will continue to be in that post.

Trump announced his plan to nominate Tata earlier this year. After being nominated, he has been receiving strong criticism for tweets calling Barack Obama, the predecessor of Trump, a terrorist leader. He has also been widely criticized for referring to Islam as the most oppressive violent religion and a slew of other equally controversial statements.

Tata says he regretted posting those tweets and deleted them. His nomination to be the department's number three official, the undersecretary of defense for policy, was overturned last week when the Senate Armed Services Committee revoked his confirmation hearing just before it was slated to begin.

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the panel's chair, claimed the lawmakers had lack of information about Tata to consider him for the position, while Rhode Island's Sen. Jack Reed, one of the committee's top Democrat, revealed that members on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about Tata's nomination.

Trump was gearing up to place Tata in a position that didn't rely on a confirmation hearing after being informed about the lack of bipartisan support, a source told CNN. Aside from that, Inhofe pointed out that multiple reports circling Tata suggest he made several Islamophobic and offensive comments and even promoted conspiracy theories.

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith also opposed the decision in his statement, saying there's a reasonable system of checks and balances exists, adding that the Senate plays a vital role in the confirmation process for administration appointees when it comes to ensuring individuals at the highest levels of government are well qualified.