The White House blocked the release of a statement to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day which specifically mentioned Jews, according to US media reports.

The US State Department, which has an Office of the Special Envoy on Holocaust Issues, had formulated a statement which included a reference to Jewish victims. However, according to the Politico website, the White House told the State Department not to release the alternative wording.

The Trump administration has been heavily criticised by American Jewish groups for its own statement, which neglected any reference to the millions of Jews killed during the Holocaust.

The administration subsequently showed no regret for the wording of its own statement, which a number of spokespeople said was due to a desire to take into account “everyone’s suffering.” It was later leaked that it had been written by a Jewish Trump aide, Boris Epshteyn.

A White House official claimed that they had not asked the State Department to draft wording and had not known about it until after the administration’s statement had been released, Politico reported. However, the website also said that State Department officials thought they were working on a statement which the White House would use.  

The wording of Mr Trump’s statement was praised by White Supremacists, with Richard Spencer, one of the founders of the Alt-right, terming it a “de-Judaification” of the Holocaust.

Even Jewish organisations which have been broadly supportive of Mr Trump condemned his statement. The Republican Jewish Coalition called it "an unfortunate omission", while the Zionist Organisation of America described its "chagrin and deep pain" at the failure to mention Jews.