Pete Schroeder & Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Saule Omarova has resigned her nomination as head of a top regulator for banking, according to the White House Tuesday announcement. She had faced opposition from Republicans, and moderate Democrats.

Omarova chose to withdraw her name as a candidate for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. She did so after a contentious nomination that saw moderate Democrats voice doubt over her opinions while Republicans interrogated her.

Omarova is a Cornell Law School Professor who was raised in the Soviet Union. She defended herself during a heated November nomination hearing.

Although she was strongly supported by progressives, who considered her a strong opponent to Wall Street, her nomination in the narrowly divided Senate was not easy.

Omarova’s nomination proved to be a significant victory for the Biden government at a crucial time, when it needs all Democrats support to get passage of the $1.75 billion social and climate spending act. A congressional aide said that at least 10 Democratic senators were skeptical, making Omarova approval almost impossible.

Biden made a statement and thanked her for her deep expertise on financial regulation. She also criticised “inappropriate personal attack that were out of the ordinary” after her nomination.

Republicans and banks have vehemently opposed her nomination, pointing to her academic research on bank oversight, and reform. Her work called for large banks to be disowned and the Federal Reserve should provide public bank accounts.

After Neera Tanden, who was nominated for the Office of Management and Budget, and David Chipman, nominated for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, she is now the third nominated by the Biden administration.