Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
President Trump personally nixed the appointment of Elliott Abrams to the number-two State Department position because of his past criticism of Trump during the campaign, CNN reported on Friday. Abrams, a foreign-policy vet who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, was personally endorsed for the gig by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, as well as top White House staffers Reince Preibus and Jared Kushner. However, CNN reported based on sources close to the situation, Trump rejected any such appointment—even after a positive meeting with Abrams—because of the way Abrams bashed Trump during the 2016 election season. “This is a loss for the State Department and the country and for that matter for the president," CNN quoted one source as saying. Another said of the move: “This was Donald Trump's thin skin and nothing else.”