Harriet Miers, the close friend and confidante of President George W. Bush, on Thursday withdrew her nomination for the US Supreme Court in the face of bitter attacks from conservatives and growing misgivings in the US Senate over her qualifications for the country's top court.

The retreat is an embarrassment to Mr Bush, whose administration appears in disarray less than a year after he rode public confidence in his leadership of the war on terrorism to a second term in office.