WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden is withdrawing the nomination of the acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to take the top job on a permanent basis. Ann Carlson, the agency's chief counsel, was named acting head of NHTSA in September and formally nominated for the top position in March. They told Carlson the standards were "consistent with your long career as an environmentalist without traffic safety experience." Jonathan Adkins, head of the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association representing state and territorial highway safety offices, said the group was deeply disappointed in the withdrawal of Carlson's nomination. During the Trump administration no nominee was ever confirmed to head NHTSA and there was no nominee for much of the four-year period.

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Persons: Joe Biden, Ann Carlson, Pete Buttigieg, Carlson, Buttigieg, Jonathan Adkins, GHSA, Biden, Adkins, Steven Cliff, Cliff, Trump, David Shepardson, Chris Reese, Matthew Lewis Organizations: National, Traffic Safety Administration, White, NHTSA, Tesla Inc, . Transportation, Republicans, Senate, Committee, Highway Safety Association, Biden Administration, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington