Trump has withdrawn 62 nominees. White House officials blame his impulsive nominations.

President Trump
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Trump's party has controlled the Senate for his entire term in office, and without a filibuster, most of the people he's nominated for federal jobs have been confirmed — though some just barely. But Trump has also withdrawn 62 nominations, Politico reports, citing figures from the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. That's more than twice the 30 nominees former President Barack Obama had withdrawn at this point in his first term, and the 62 failed nominations don't even include people Trump never formally nominated, like Federal Reserve picks Stephen Moore and Herman Cain.

One reason for the high failure rate is weak and sloppy vetting, according to people involved in the process. "Past administrations have historically spent weeks or even months trying to identify potentially damaging information about candidates for administration jobs — long before their nominations are announced," Politico reports. In the most recent case, "many in the administration were unaware of some of Moore's past writings."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.