Another of President Trump’s judicial picks was derailed Monday, just days after he badly stumbled at his confirmation hearing under questioning by Sen. John Kennedy.
Matthew Petersen pulled his name from contention for a lifetime position on the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, saying he had become “a distraction” after he bungled his hearing and a video of Mr. Kennedy’s grilling went viral online.
Mr. Peterson said the exchanges, in which he admitted he had never tried a case in court, never led the taking of a deposition and was unable to answer a series of questions about courtroom procedure, were “my two worst minutes.”
Mr. Kennedy, a freshman Republican from Louisiana, said afterward that he takes vetting seriously.
“I ask questions that I expect them to be able to answer. In doing so, I’m just doing my job. That’s why we have a Madisonian-inspired separation of powers,” the senator told The Washington Times in a statement. “We need checks and balances so that we can serve the American people well.”
Mr. Kennedy has become one of the most important voices in the judicial debate, having taken a lead role in demanding the White House do a better job of picking people to fill the federal bench. The senator is likely to be pivotal as Mr. Trump strives to fill the unprecedented number of vacancies on the federal bench — particularly with the GOP’s Senate majority poised to shrink to 51-49 in the new year.
Mr. Kennedy last month became the first Republican to vote against another one of Mr. Trump’s picks for the federal bench.
He couldn’t support U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia nominee Greg Katsas, who worked as one of the president’s attorneys, because he saw a potential conflict of interest if Mr. Katsas were to review legal challenges to the administration’s actions, some of which he worked on in the White House.
The committee cleared Judge Katsas, who now sits on the federal appellate court.
Mr. Kennedy and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley derailed two other Trump picks last week: The White House said it had decided not to move forward on Jeff Mateer, who said transgender children were part of “Satan’s plan,” and Brett Talley, who didn’t disclose a potential conflict of interest with his wife working as chief of staff for White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn II and who appeared to blog in defense of the Ku Klux Klan.
Mr. Kennedy said last month the conflicts surrounding Mr. Talley weren’t known to the senators at the time of his confirmation hearing, but knowing what he does now about the nominee, he would have voted against him twice if he could.
He also voiced concern with the administration’s nomination of Kyle Duncan for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, saying he is aware of several Louisiana lawyers who want to know why they weren’t selected. Mr. Duncan is from Louisiana but most recently has worked as a lawyer in Washington.
Conservative groups mounted a pressure campaign demanding Mr. Kennedy back Mr. Duncan, accusing the senator of being a roadblock against the Trump agenda.
Mr. Kennedy has since said he will back Mr. Duncan, adding that he won’t bow to pressure from groups.
“They better call somebody else who cares, because I’m going to do my job,” he told The Times last week.
He said he has supported “nearly every one” of Mr. Trump’s judicial picks, but won’t do so “blindly.”
During his questioning of Mr. Petersen last week, Mr. Kennedy exposed a lack of courtroom experience. The exchange prompted Mr. Trump to call the senator and tell him to continue to do his job.
“We all know the president doesn’t interview judicial candidates below the Supreme Court…and our job on the judiciary is to catch any mistakes that may have been made,” Mr. Kennedy told reporters. In his letter withdrawing his nomination, which was obtained by multiple news outlets, Mr. Petersen said he had hoped his years of experience handling complicated issues as a lawyer on Capitol Hill and as a member of the Federal Election Commission would be enough to qualify for a judgeship.
He also pointed to his rating by the American Bar Associations as “qualified” as evidence he was ready for a courtroom position.
Liberal groups credited Mr. Kennedy with sinking the nomination.
“Senator Kennedy’s questioning illustrates that serious vetting of judicial nominations should not be a partisan issue,” said Robert Raben, founder of the Committee for a Fair Judiciary. “Those who would occupy lifetime positions on our nation’s federal courts should have unimpeachable credentials.”
Daniel Goldberg, legal director for the Alliance for Justice, said the withdrawal is a result of bad nominee after bad nominee from the Trump administration.
“After the course of a year of being forced to rubber stamp, senators like Senator Kennedy are fed up and hoping the White House hears the message and starts sending up more qualified individuals,” he said.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.