In Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee exchange, Kennedy highlighted Petersen’s lack of courtroom experience with a series of yes-or-no questions. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Sen. Kennedy says Trump called him after grilling of judicial nominee went viral

President Donald Trump phoned Sen. John Kennedy over the weekend and told him to do his job when White House staff send over an unqualified nominee for Senate confirmation, the Louisiana Republican said Monday.

“The president and I get along fine, and he has told me, he said, ‘Kennedy, when some of my guys send somebody over who’s not qualified, you do your job,’” the senator recalled in an interview Monday morning with WWL-TV. “And I said, ‘Thank you, Mr. President.’ And I intend to do that.”


In a viral video posted by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) with more than 8 million views, Kennedy grilled Matthew Petersen, a member of the Federal Election Commission and a judicial nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

A White House official confirmed Monday that Petersen had withdrawn from consideration for the post after coming under fire for his performance at the hearing.

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In Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee exchange, Kennedy highlighted Petersen’s lack of courtroom experience with a series of yes-or-no questions. Kennedy told the station he didn’t know Petersen was inexperienced with litigation beforehand and said that's why the Senate holds hearings.

“The president called me the day before yesterday,” Kennedy said. “He doesn’t interview these guys. He has a staff do it. And he said, ‘Kennedy, I think you’re right.’”

Kennedy described Petersen as a “really smart” and “decent guy.” “But just because you’ve seen ‘My Cousin Vinny’ doesn’t qualify you to be a federal judge,” he said. “And he has no litigation experience. And my job on the Judiciary Committee is to catch him. I would strongly suggest he not give up his day job.”

Kennedy added that he has supported most of the president’s appointments and said he’s “100 percent” behind Trump, who is “doing a great job.”

Cristiano Lima contributed to this report.