Former Treasury secretary and senior White House economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers has withdrawn as the candidate for Federal Reserve chairman after an uproar among Democrats, women's groups and other organizations.
Summers was being backed by President Barack Obama, the Washington Post reports.
Incumbent Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is due to step down in four months, the report added.
Obama is reported to be considering two other candidates for the post.
Democrats criticized Summers for his support for deregulating parts of the banking sector while he was Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton.
He also sparked controversy for his comments on women's aptitude in math and science when he was the president of Harvard University in 2005.
