The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, had recommended Mr. Gregg for commerce secretary. The White House accepted Mr. Reid’s suggestion, in part, because the president had said he wanted his cabinet to be filled with a variety of viewpoints.
[....]
Mr. Gregg will remain in the Senate and said he would help Mr. Obama accomplish some pieces of his agenda, like reworking Social Security. “I do believe, genuinely, that I can be even more effective for this presidency in the Senate,” Mr. Gregg said.
Mr. Gregg added that he would not seek re-election to a fourth term in 2010, making him the fifth Republican senator to announce plans to retire next year.
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff who had been a strong proponent of Mr. Gregg’s nomination, sought to play down his decision to withdraw. “It is better that it happened now,” Mr. Emanuel said, “than when you have someone in the government.”
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/politics/13gregg.html>