Washington • A judicial nominee with Utah ties who failed to answer basic questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week has withdrawn his nomination, a White House official confirmed Monday.

Matthew Spencer Petersen, who earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and law degree at the University of Virginia, had fumbled questions when grilled about his judicial experience by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., last Thursday, a video of which went viral and earned a rebuke by judicial observers.

“Mr. Petersen has withdrawn his nomination and the president has accepted,” a White House official said Monday.

Petersen, a commissioner on the Federal Elections Commission and its former chairman, noted at the onset of the hearing that he wasn’t a litigation attorney but noted that he’d overseen a staff of some 70 lawyers at the FEC and acknowledged that he would have some learning to do ahead of taking the bench.

Kennedy singled him out for a line of questioning which Petersen struggled to answer.

“When’s the last time you read the rules of civil procedure?” Kennedy asked.

“Well,” Petersen said, “the rules of federal procedure, um, in my current position I don’t need to stay as, you know, invested in those on a day to day basis but I do try to keep up to speed.”

He’d never argued a motion in state or federal court, or taken a deposition by himself, Petersen said, and was unable to answer questions about common trial motions.

In a letter to Trump, Petersen said he would step aside because his nomination has become a distraction – “and that is not fair to you or your administration.”

He said that the judgeship he was up for – a judge on the federal district court for the District of Columbia – would dovetail perfectly with his experience with administrative and constitutional law. The federal court based in the nation’s capital mainly deals with questions about regulatory matters and challenges to agency actions.

Petersen is a former top aide to the late Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and had also worked for the House.

“I had hoped that my nearly two decades of pubic service might carry more weight than my two worst minutes on television,” Petersen wrote. “However, I am no stranger to political realities, and I do not wish to be a continued distraction from the important work of your administration and the Senate.”

Petersen will continue to serve on the FEC.

This story will be updated.

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