Matthew S. Petersen

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My background is not in litigation...And I understand, and I appreciate this line of questioning. I understand the challenge that would be ahead of me if I were fortunate enough to become a district court judge. I understand that the path that many successful district court judges have taken has been a different one than I have taken. But as I mentioned in my earlier answer, I believe that the path that I have taken to be one who’s been in a decision-making role in somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 enforcement matters, overseen I don’t know how many cases in federal court the administration has been a party to during my time." [37]

Petersen's answers received criticism in the press and from lawmakers. The New York Times described it as one of the "more painful Senate hearings in recent memory". [39] Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) complained that, of the "basic questions of law" Senator Kennedy asked, Petersen could not "answer a single one". [41] Legal scholar Alicia Bannon blamed Petersen's answers on "a lack of preparation and basic understanding of pretty basic legal concepts". [39]

Carrie Campbell Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, defended him in the National Review , saying that his time at the FEC gave him experience in trial-like procedures. [42] Matthew Sanderson, a Republican attorney from the Washington, D.C., firm Caplin & Drysdale, argued in The Hill that Kennedy's concerns were largely irrelevant to the D.C. District, and criticized Kennedy as "bellitl[ing]" Petersen. [43]

Petersen withdrew his nomination on December 16, 2017. [44] [45] [46] On January 3, 2018, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate. [47]

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References

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  2. "FEC Elects Matthew Petersen as Chairman for 2016; Steven Walther to Serve as Vice Chairman" (Press release). Federal Election Commission. December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  3. "Former FEC chairman from Utah takes job at D.C. law firm". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  4. Herald, Matt Reichman-Daily. "Former Mapleton resident elected FEC chairman". Daily Herald. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
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  7. "Following his graduation from the University of Virginia School of Law, Petersen worked at Wiley Rein LLP for several years, which is renowned for its regulatory practice." Carrie Severino (December 16, 2017) On the Nomination of Matthew Petersen, NationalReview.com, accessed July 04, 2018
  8. Severino, 2017: "Petersen left Wiley Rein in 2002 to work on Capitol Hill, serving first as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration and then as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, one of the most consequential committees in that body."
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Matthew S. Petersen
FEC Matthew S Petersen.jpg
Chair of the Federal Election Commission
In office
January 1, 2016 December 31, 2016
Political offices
Preceded by Member of the Federal Election Commission
2008–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Chairman of the Federal Election Commission
2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the Federal Election Commission
2016
Succeeded by