Trump judge nominee withdraws after ‘humiliating interview’
Matthew Petersen fails to answer most basic legal questions in excruciating five-minute hearing

A man nominated by Donald Trump for the role of federal judge has withdrawn his candidacy following a humiliating interview last week that went viral.
“It has become clear to me over the last few days that my nomination has become a distraction,” Matthew Petersen wrote in a letter to the US President.
Petersen had been nominated as a federal judge in the District of Columbia, but Donald Trump has now accepted his offer to withdraw, the White House said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peterson, a Republican member of the Federal Election Commission, “is the latest of Trump's conservative judicial nominations to fail,” says the BBC.
In the excruciating confirmation hearing, Petersen “failed to answer the most basic legal questions asked by Republican Senator John Kennedy,” says the Daily Telegraph.
In his letter to Trump announcing his withdrawal, Petersen said he is “no stranger to political realities” and did not wish to be a “continued distraction” to the President's or his administration's work. He bemoaned his performance at his confirmation hearing, saying, “I had hoped that my nearly two decades of public service would carry more weight than my worst two minutes on television.”
After the hearing, his questioner openly criticised Petersen telling local station WWL-TV: “Just because you've seen My Cousin Vinny doesn't qualify you to be a federal judge” - referring to the 1992 comedy film about a novice lawyer.
But Kennedy also told CNN after the hearing that he hoped Petersen's nomination would be withdrawn.
“I'm hoping the White House will pull down Mr. Petersen,” Kennedy said. “I don't wanna see him suffer.”
He added: “I think he's whip smart, probably. But you can't just walk into a federal courthouse for the very first time and say ‘Here I am, I think I wanna be a judge.’ It just doesn't work that way.”
Despite this setback “Trump has made progress filling other judicial vacancies with conservative judges and notably restored the Supreme Court's conservative majority with the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch,” says the BBC.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Easy listening: the best audiobooks
The Week Recommends Swap hefty hardbacks for hands-free reading this summer
-
Sharenting: does covering children's faces on social media protect them?
In The Spotlight Privacy trend has 'trickled down' from celebrity parents but it may not protect your kids
-
Syria's returning refugees
The Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
Trump's strikes on Iran: a 'spectacular success'?
In Depth Military humiliations 'expose the brittleness' of Tehran's ageing regime, but risk reinforcing its commitment to its nuclear program
-
Will NATO countries meet their new spending goal?
today's big question The cost of keeping Trump happy
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump