"Record-setting" personnel issues are marring President Donald Trump's second term as the president doubles former President Joe Biden's "mark for nominees withdrawn from the Senate in the first year," Politico reports.
Despite Trump's personnel operation being a "smoothly running machine," they report, "there are clear signs of breakdowns behind the scenes."
Trump has withdrawn a record number of nominees for a president’s first year in office as he faces a combination of GOP pushback against some picks, vetting issues, White House infighting and, in some cases, the president’s own mercurial views," they note.
According to Senate data, Trump has thus far withdrawn 57 nominations—nearly double the 22 nominations he pulled during his first term and the 29 Biden withdrew during his.
This "pace of withdrawals," Politico notes, "is the highest since at least the Ronald Reagan presidency."
Republicans have "acknowledged the obvious," they report: " in some instances, the White House just isn’t making sure Trump’s nominees can get the votes."
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) agrees, telling Politico, "It would appear that some nominees haven’t been vetted, and … somebody says, ‘Go with them anyways.'"
The most "vivid" example of this, Politico writes, is "the monthslong intraparty drama over Paul Ingrassia’s nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel."
Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to a high-level watchdog position after reports of racist and antisemitic text messages emerged, but was subsequently appointed to a new role at the General Services Administration.
"Would I say some vetting has been questionable? One thousand percent,” an anonymous source close to the White House tells Politico, adding of Ingrassia, “That was a vetting nightmare that was only allowed to happen based on certain relationships and acquaintances with people that are making the decisions.”
A Senate aide anonymously tells Politico that "intra-administration snags" are the reason nominees are being withdrawn, but the anonymous White House source offers more insight.
"Not all of these nominations were done so in good faith” under Sergio Gor, who served as the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office until his confirmation as ambassador to India, the source tells Politico.
"The person suggested Gor’s successor as personnel chief, longtime Trump loyalist Dan Scavino, would oversee fewer withdrawals," Politico reports.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blames Trump's "fast pace" for the "sloppy vetting," Politico says.
"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 says.
While Trump withdrew attorney Ed Martin's nomination to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia after it became clear he lacked sufficient Republican support in the Senate, many of his other picks have been withdrawn for his own personal beefs with them, Politico explains.
"He abruptly withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations earlier this year amid concerns about how the New York Republican’s departure would trim the House majority. He later pulled Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA over his “prior associations,” only to renominate him five months later," they explain.
Trump also listens to controversial MAGA influencers like Laura Loomer, who led him to withdraw Donald Korb’s nomination as top IRS lawyer after she led a pressure campaign against him, later publicly boasting that Korb had been “Loomered” after Trump’s announcement.
Trump's beefs are getting in the way of his staffing machine, and he's not hiding it.
“I had one Republican who got two great letters, but it turned out that he was a RINO,” Trump said during a White House breakfast with senators.
“When I saw that the two senators from Virginia gave him glowing remarks … I said let me see this, I read the most beautiful letters I’ve ever seen. I called him up; I said, ‘Sorry, you’re fired — get the hell out of here.’”
