Profession Lawyer Name Matthew Petersen | Role Counsel | |
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Education Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, University of Virginia School of Law | ||
Matthew Spencer Petersen (born 1970) is a member and current Chairman of the United States Federal Election Commission and a nominee to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
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Career
Petersen was nominated to the FEC by President George W. Bush on June 12, 2008, and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 2008. In December 2009, he was unanimously elected by his fellow members of the FEC to serve as the Chairman of the FEC starting in 2010.
From 2005 until his appointment to the FEC, Petersen served as Republican chief counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. In this capacity, he provided counsel on issues relating to federal campaign finance and election administration laws as well as the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Prior to this, Petersen served as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration. During his tenure, Petersen was extensively involved in the crafting of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and the House-Senate negotiations that culminated in HAVA's passage. From 1999 to 2002, Petersen specialized in election and campaign finance law at the law firm of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C.
Petersen received his Juris Doctor in 1999 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in philosophy from Brigham Young University in 1996. He also received an Associate of Science with high honors from Utah Valley State College.
Nomination to district court
On September 7, 2017, President Trump nominated Petersen to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to the seat vacated by Judge Richard W. Roberts, who assumed senior status on March 16, 2016. On September 11, 2017, his nomination was officially sent to the Senate. His nomination is currently pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee.