US Politics
Trump withdraws record number of nominees to join his administration: report
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President Donald Trump has withdrawn nearly twice as many nominations from the Senate than he did during his first term, as his administration has been troubled by vetting issues and Republican pushback, according to a report.
Senate data shows that Trump has withdrawn 57 nominations, which is roughly double the 22 he withdrew during the first year of his first term, Politico reports.
Republican senators told the outlet that in some cases, it would seem the White House “isn’t make sure Trump’s nominees can get the votes.”
“It would appear that some nominees haven’t been vetted, and…somebody says, ‘Go with them anyways,’” Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told Politico.
A White House official said that some of the 57 withdrawals were done “for a variety of reasons,” including “clerical changes, new positions or adding new responsibilities to their original role.”
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However, one such example of “questionable” vetting included the withdrawal of Paul Ingrassia, the 30-year-old lawyer Trump nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel.
Ingrassia’s nomination was withdrawn after a bombshell Politico report that he had allegedly described himself as having “a Nazi streak” while using racial slurs in a private group chat.
“He’s not gonna pass,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said at the time.
A source close to the White House told the outlet that some of the vetting of nominees “has been questionable.”
“That was a vetting nightmare that was only allowed to happen based on certain relationships and acquaintances with people that are making the decisions,” the person said of Ingrassia.
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Since January, the Senate has confirmed more than 300 nominees to join the administration. The speed at which nominees are being confirmed is partly thanks to a change in the rules, which allows most of them to be confirmed in groups of unlimited size.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told Politico that the rule change could have had something to do with the number of withdrawn nominees.
“Obviously, when you move more quickly and you’ve got new folks in play, then you are going to run into people who have lifestyle issues,” Tillis told the outlet, and said he was “surprised” by how many nominees were withdrawn.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said that Trump is “nominating the most talented patriots to successfully carry out his America First agenda.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, these appointees are delivering on his core campaign promises in record time from securing the border, ending Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, unleashing American energy, and restoring common sense policies,” Huston added.