Steven Mnuchin, the highest-ranking U.S. official scheduled to attend Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative conference, on Thursday announced that he’s withdrawing.
His decision comes as the Kingdom faces intense backlash to the Oct. 2 disappearance — and likely murder — of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
“Just met with @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo and we have decided, I will not be participating in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia,” Mnuchin wrote on Twitter.
The Treasury secretary has said all week that he was weighing whether to attend, following an avalanche of prominent media and finance companies that have withdrawn as media partners.
The conference has also lost prominent speakers, such as Viacom CEO Bob Bakish and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.
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