The White House said it “absolutely worked” to secure the votes necessary for President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, arguing that Republican obstructionism had doomed the nominee’s bid.

“We absolutely worked to get [David Chipman] confirmed, but we weren’t naive about it,” press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. The White House pulled the nomination soon after Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he would not vote to confirm Chipman.