One of President Donald Trump’s controversial judicial nominees, Brett Talley, has offered to withdraw his nomination, a source close to the situation told BuzzFeed News.
The White House had not announced any change in Talley’s status as of Tuesday evening. Talley communicated his offer of withdrawal to the White House last week, according to the source.
If the White House does decide to withdraw Talley’s name, it would be Trump’s first unsuccessful judicial nomination.
Talley, nominated to the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, faced opposition from Democrats and civil rights groups before the judiciary committee voted in favor of his nomination in early November, but he faced new scrutiny after the vote amid revelations about information that wasn’t included in his Senate questionnaire. BuzzFeed News first reported on thousands of posts that Talley appeared to have written for a University of Alabama sports fan website, including on gun control, immigration, and other political subjects.
In one post on TideFans.com, poster “BamainBoston,” who identified himself as Talley in 2014, wrote in response to the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, “My solution would be to stop being a society of pansies and man up.”
Slate highlighted another post by BamainBoston that appeared to defend the early iteration of the Ku Klux Klan. Talley also received a rare “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Information about Talley’s offer comes as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has reportedly urged the White House to reconsider two judicial nominations, including that of Talley. A spokesperson for Grassley confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the senator had expressed “concerns” to White House staff about statements made by the two nominees.
Grassley isn’t the first Republican to take a critical eye to Trump’s judicial nominees — Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy was the first Republican to break ranks, at least publicly — but given Grassley’s perch as head of the Judiciary Committee, his pushback is particularly significant.
Asked about reports of Grassley’s communications to the White House on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters she would have to look into it.
CNN first reported Tuesday that Grassley had communicated his concerns to the White House and had said that he advised the White House to “reconsider” Jeff Mateer’s nomination and “not to proceed” with Talley. A spokesman for Grassley later clarified to BuzzFeed News that Grassley hadn’t intended to draw a distinction between the two nominees in describing what he told the White House and that his comments applied to both Mateer and Talley.
Talley was already voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee — with Grassley’s support — and is waiting for a vote by the full Senate. The other nominee, Jeff Mateer, hasn’t had a hearing yet in the committee, which means Grassley can exercise control over whether and when that nomination moves forward.
Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy said in an email to BuzzFeed News that Grassley conveyed his concerns to the White House about Talley and Mateer “at the staff level.” He did not provide details about when those communications took place, who was involved, or what exactly Grassley said.
“Chairman Grassley has been concerned about statements made by nominees Mateer and Talley, and he’s conveyed those concerns to the White House. Revelations of Talley’s statements surfaced only after he was reported out of the Judiciary Committee. Mateer’s nomination paperwork has not yet been received by the Committee, and no further action is scheduled,” Foy wrote.
Talley’s critics have also pointed to his minimal courtroom experience and the fact that he did not include in a section of his questionnaire that asked about potential conflicts of interest that his wife, Ann Donaldson, is chief of staff to White House Counsel Don McGahn.
Mateer was nominated in September to a seat on the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. CNN reported that, in 2015, Mateer gave speeches in which he said that transgender children were evidence of “Satan’s plan.” At a recent confirmation hearing for other nominees, Kennedy asked questions that suggested he had concerns about Mateer in light of those statements.
Democrats and civil rights and liberal advocacy groups have objected to many of Trump’s nominees, but have had no success so far in stopping any of them from being confirmed. Judicial confirmations have been a bright spot for the Trump administration and Senate Republicans this year, with McConnell vowing to move nominees through the Senate as quickly as possible and Grassley taking steps to head off Democratic opposition at the committee level.
Asked about Grassley’s communications to the White House and the status of a full Senate vote on Talley, a spokesman for McConnell said in a email, “I do not have any scheduling announcements or guidance on any nominees right now.”
The Senate is preparing to vote this week on three federal appeals court nominees.
