U.S. Senate postpones consideration of former congressman Issa for trade role

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Jim Risch said on Thursday he had postponed consideration of Darrell Issa, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, to be director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

Risch announced that consideration of Issa had been postponed after a short break in an acrimonious hearing of the Senate panel. Senator Bob Menendez, the committee's top Democrat, said the White House had blocked access for all committee members to what he described as potentially embarrassing information on Issa.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Patricia Zengerle Editing by Andrew Heavens)