Matthew Peterson has written to US President Donald Trump to withdraw his judicial nomination after his hearing video went viral last week.
Mr Petersen, up for a federal judge role for the District of Columbia, made headlines after he struggled to answer basic legal questions when questioned by Republican Senator John Kennedy.
The video was shared by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
The Federal Election Commissioner was asked a variety of questions during the hearing including how many depositions he had worked, how many jury trials he had tried and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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Following the hearing, Senator Kennedy told CNN he hoped the White House would withdraw Mr Petersen.
"I think he's whip-smart, probably. But you can't just walk into a federal courthouse for the very first time and say 'Here I am, I think I wanna be a judge.' It just doesn't work that way," Mr Kennedy told CNN.
Mr Petersen acknowledged during the televised hearing his background was not in litigation, but following the questioning he wrote to Mr Trump to withdraw his nomination.
"I had hoped that my nearly two decades of public service would carry more weight than my worst two minutes on television," he said.
"It has become clear to me over the last few days that my nomination has become a distraction."
Mr Trump's critics were vocal following the Senate hearing, claiming the president was not focusing on qualifications for his nominees.
The video was viewed more than 8.2 million times after Mr Whitehouse shared the hearing.
"MUST WATCH: Republican @SenJohnKennedy asks one of @realDonaldTrump's US District Judge nominees basic questions of law & he can’t answer a single one. Hoo-boy," he tweeted.
Mr Petersen currently serves as the commissioner for the Federal Election Commission. He worked as a public and private lawyer for nearly 20 years.
Mr Trump nominated Mr Petersen as a federal judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
