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By Chris Jansing

In a victory for progressive Democrats, Treasury Department nominee Antonio Weiss has taken himself out of contention for the third-ranking spot at the agency, NBC News confirms.

Weiss's nomination to be the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance had prompted anger from progressive Democrats like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who alleged that he was too close to the financial industry.

"Over the weekend, Mr. Weiss asked the White House not to re-nominate him to serve as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department," the White House said in a statement. "Mr. Weiss made the request to avoid the distraction of the lengthy confirmation process that his renomination would likely entail. "

Weiss has instead accepted a position as counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, a position that does not require confirmation by the Senate.

"I am disappointed that Antonio will not have the opportunity to serve as Under Secretary, but I understand his request not to be re-nominated," Lew said in a statement. "I continue to believe that the opposition to his nomination was not justified. Nonetheless, I am confident that he will prove himself to be a dedicated, talented, and effective public servant and that he will make an important contribution to the work we are doing to create broadly shared economic opportunity and financial stability that will be a foundation for long-term prosperity."

- Carrie Dann contributed

First published January 12 2015, 2:29 PM

Chris Jansing is an MSNBC anchor and host of Jansing and Co., which airs weekdays on MSNBC at 10 a.m. ET, as well as an NBC news correspondent and anchor. Jansing joined NBC News in June 1998. She anchored MSNBCs coverage of the terrorist attacks on September 11 as the events unfolded. She has extensively covered several presidential campaigns and hosted a series of primetime reports called Battleground America. She has anchored major breaking stories including Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans; the shooting tragedies in Tucson and Aurora, Colorado; the nuclear crisis in Japan; and the Olympic Games in Torino, Vancouver and London. Jansing was also in London for the Royal Wedding, and Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. She was with Pope John Paul II during his historic visit to Israel, and anchored MSNBCs coverage from Rome for his funeral as well as the election of Pope Benedict. Her reporting for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and the TODAY Show has included the 2008 presidential campaign, the volcano eruption in Iceland, and the death of Michael Jackson. She has filed reports from Bolivia to Vietnam to Afghanistan, and across the U.S. Jansings duties also include work as a correspondent for Dateline NBC, Rock Center, and as a substitute anchor for Weekend TODAY and the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News. Before joining the NBC News team, Jansing co-anchored the nightly news for WNYT-TV Albany, where she was honored with numerous awards for excellence in journalism, including two Emmys. She also received many community service awards for her commitment to children. A native of Ohio, Jansing graduated with honors from Otterbein College and holds two honorary doctorates. She lives in New York City.

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Treasury Nominee Pulls Name Under Pressure From Progressives