Trump has withdrawn 62 nominees. White House officials blame his impulsive nominations.
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 But Trump has also withdrawn 62 nominations, Politico reports, citing figures from the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. That's more than twice the 30 nominees former President Barack Obama had withdrawn at this point in his first term, and the 62 failed nominations don't even include people Trump never formally nominated, like Federal Reserve picks Stephen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."
The White House's vetting operation has improved, but Trump "sometimes undermines that process by making major staffing decisions on his own, with little consultation and with little notice," Politico reports, citing current and former administration officials. One former senior White House official told Politico that Trump is "impatient and impulsive,'' adding: "When he makes a decision, he wants to move forward. There aren't any people around him urging caution."
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.
Trump's choice of friends, family, associates, people who looked the part, and people he saw on TV worked while Senate Republicans were freer with the green light, but they have recently started quashing more nominees. Trump has instead started relying more heavily on "acting" officials who don't need Senate confirmation. Besides, "compared to all of the stuff Trump is dealing with, this stuff barely registers," a former administration official tells Politico. "Is anybody going to remember Steve Moore in three months?"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
‘We feel closer to their struggles and successes’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
SNAP aid uncertain amid court rulings, politicsSpeed Read Funding for additional SNAP benefits ran out over the weekend
-
The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st centuryThe Week Recommends Viewers can binge on most anything, including espionage and the formation of parliamentary coalitions
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
