Matthew Petersen drew national attention when he failed to answer rapid-fire queries from the Republican senator John Kennedy

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A White House official said on Monday that the Trump judicial nominee whose qualifications were questioned by Republican senator has withdrawn his nomination.

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Matthew Petersen, who was nominated by Trump to the United States district court for the District of Columbia, has been the subject of widespread ridicule since he was unable to define basic legal terms during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.



A White House official said Petersen had withdrawn his nomination and that Trump had accepted the withdrawal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the development publicly.

During the hearing, Senator John Kennedy, a Republican, began his line of questioning to the five candidates present for the hearing by asking if any had not “tried a case to verdict”, to which Petersen raised his hand.

Kennedy, a trained lawyer, zeroed in for a rapid fire line of questioning on some key legal principles that turn up in federal court cases:

“Do you know what a motion in limine is?” Kennedy asked.



“I would probably not be able to give you a good definition,” Petersen responded.

“Do you know what the Younger abstention doctrine is?” Kennedy continued.

“I’ve heard of it, but again,” Petersen responded, trailing off.

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Petersen is currently serving as a commissioner with the Federal Election Commission. Trump nominated him for the prestigious and pivotal federal circuit court of the District of Columbia in September.