Federal Election Commission member Matthew Spencer Petersen withdrew his nomination for lifetime appointment on the US District Court for the District of Columbia after video of him struggling to answer questions on basic court procedure before the Senate Judiciary Committee went viral last week. According to Huffington Post, Petersen withdrew his nomination on Saturday and President Trump accepted his withdrawal.
This is Trump’s third failed judicial nominee since taking office. Other unsuccessful judicial nominees included Brett Talley, a 36-year-old ghost busting KKK apologist who, like Petersen, has never tried a case in court, and Jeff Mateer, the first assistant attorney general of Texas who said that transgender children are “part of Satan’s plan.” Mateer is also a defender of gay conversation therapy.
The excruciating Petersen video went viral after Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) tweeted it, roasting Trump over his infamous campaign promise to only appoint “the best people.”
MUST WATCH: Republican @SenJohnKennedy asks one of @realDonaldTrump’s US District Judge nominees basic questions of law & he can’t answer a single one. Hoo-boy. pic.twitter.com/fphQx2o1rc
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) December 15, 2017
UPDATE: CNN shared Petersen’s withdrawal letter in which he wrote that he is “no stranger to political realities” and does not want to be a distraction to the Trump administration’s agenda.
“I had hoped that my nearly two decades of public service would carry more weight than my worst two minutes on television,” Petersen wrote, clearly aware of how badly he embarrassed himself in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
You can read the entirety of his letter here.