White House rejects key Pentagon intelligence nominee

President Donald Trump has rejected the Pentagon's selection of Army Lt. Gen. Richard Angle to serve as the director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command, Politico reported.

Though the rationale behind the rejection has not become public, the outlet took the White House's decision as a sign that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, both of whom backed Angle, had lost influence with the president.

Trump, for his part, openly contradicted Gabbard during remarks to reporters, saying "she's wrong" about Iran's nuclear weapons development. The Fox News reporter speaking to Trump appeared to reference a March assessment in which the intelligence community concluded Iran had not restarted its nuclear weapons program. Gabbard's office this week asserted that she and Trump were "on the same page" as to the matter.

The decision to reject Angle comes amid a tense debate within the administration over how to proceed with efforts to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb.