Enlarge / Gigi Sohn testifies during a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing on Feb. 9, 2022. (credit: Getty Images)

President Biden’s nominee to the open seat on the Federal Communications Commission, Gigi Sohn, withdrew her nomination today.

“When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies,” Sohn said in a statement provided to Ars and other media organizations.

Sohn’s nomination was “met with homophobic tropes and attacks against herself and her family,” a recent letter from advocacy groups to senators said. Sohn’s statement said that “unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest have taken an enormous toll on me and my family.”