Trump's pick for Army secretary drops out because Pentagon 'would not allow him to transfer ownership of hockey team to a family member'

  • Vincent Viola was picked by President Donald Trump to be Secretary of the Army
  • Viola announced on Friday that he was withdrawing his candidacy
  • He says he is unable to meet the Pentagon's requirements to divest from his business interests
  • Viola is the owner of the Florida Panthers professional hockey team
  • He wanted to transfer ownership to a member of his family and let his vice chairman run the team's day-to-day operations, but the Pentagon balked 

By Reuters and Ariel Zilber For Dailymail.com

Published: 22:07 EST, 3 February 2017 | Updated: 00:31 EST, 4 February 2017

Vincent Viola, an Army veteran and founder of a high-speed trading firm nominated by President Donald Trump to be secretary of the Army, withdrew his name from consideration on Friday, citing his inability to get around Defense Department rules concerning his family businesses, the Military Times reported.

It quoted Viola as saying in a statement that he would not be able to successfully navigate the confirmation process.

Viola is a former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange and is a leader in electronic trading. 

Along with Virtu CEO Douglas Cifu, he bought the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League in 2013.

Vincent Viola (left), an Army veteran and businessman nominated by President Donald Trump (right) to be secretary of the Army, withdrew his name from consideration on Friday

Viola reportedly wanted to transfer ownership of the Florida Panthers hockey team (above) to a family member and hand over the day-to-day operations to the team's vice chairman. That arrangement, however, did not meet the Pentagon's requirements

According to the Times, Viola wanted to transfer ownership of the Panthers to a family member and hand over the day-to-day operations to the team's vice chairman.

That arrangement, however, did not meet the Pentagon's requirements. 

Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the report.

Viola released a statement on Friday saying that while he was 'deeply honored' to have been picked by Trump, he did not believe he would be able to successfully go through the confirmation process.

'I appreciate the confidence President Trump showed in me,' he said. 

'I offer my continued support for President Trump and his administration, and look forward to redoubling my efforts to support the Army and its veterans as private citizens.' 

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