George Tsunis, a major donor to President Obama’s re-election, told Newsday that his bid to become U.S. ambassador to Norway was “over” after it appeared his nomination would not get a vote in the Senate.

During his confirmation hearing, Tsunis admitted that he had never been to Norway and referred to the nation’s president, when in fact it has a king and prime minister. He also described one of the country’s major political parties as a “fringe element.”