Unsuccessful nominations to the Cabinet of the United States

[1] In 1833, President Andrew Jackson used a recess appointment to name Roger B. Taney, who was serving as Attorney General, as the Secretary of the Treasury.

He was formally nominated in December 1843, and his nomination was rejected by a vote of 8–34 on January 15, 1844,[4][5] after Navy officers, including future Admiral David Farragut, objected to Henshaw's plans to combat sectional divisions within the Navy by assigning Northerners to Southern naval posts and Southerners to Northern naval posts.

Strauss had made enemies in the Senate during his tenure as Chair of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush nominated John Tower, a former United States Senator, to be Secretary of Defense.

In January 1801, during his lame-duck session, John Adams nominated Lucius Horatio Stockton to be Secretary of War.

[4] In 1868, President Andrew Johnson forced Edwin Stanton, a Radical Republican who had served as Secretary of War since 1862, to resign from his cabinet, in violation of the 1867 Tenure of Office Act.

When it became clear that the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs intended to use the confirmation hearings "to explore circumstances surrounding the exoneration of Mr. Gober after he was accused of sexual misconduct in 1993," Clinton withdrew the nomination.

She withdrew from consideration after it was revealed that she had given money to a one-time undocumented immigrant who lived in her home more than a decade earlier.

[29] On December 10, Kerik withdrew from the nomination, after acknowledging that he had unknowingly hired an undocumented immigrant as a nanny and housekeeper.

[30] While still President-elect of the United States, Barack Obama chose Tom Daschle to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services.

On February 12, 2009, Gregg withdrew his name from consideration for the position, citing disagreements with Obama on issues surrounding the United States Census and the stimulus bill.

[39] In reaction to public coverage of the tape, his former wife said she had been "misled by faulty advice" during her divorce proceedings, and had subsequently "fully" withdrawn those allegations in 1990.

Amid these reports, the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs postponed Jackson's confirmation hearings on April 23.

[46] On December 20, 2018, General Jim Mattis announced his resignation as Secretary of Defense over differences in Syria policy,[47] leaving office on January 1, 2019.

"[49] President Trump announced on June 18 that he would not be formally nominating Shanahan "so that he can devote more time to his family" following reports of domestic violence; his then-wife and son were arrested in 2010 and 2011 respectively on allegations of assault.

Richard Burr, the Republican chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was reported to have warned the White House that he considered Ratcliffe to be "too political".

[54] On November 30, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced that Neera Tanden would be his nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

[63][64] Other moderate senators, including Susan Collins, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, and Pat Toomey said they would also vote against Tanden's nomination.

[68] On November 13, 2024, President-elect Trump announced he would nominate Matt Gaetz, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 1st congressional district, to serve as United States attorney general.

[70] His nomination was negatively received by multiple Senate Republicans, several of whom indicated that they would not support it due to standing allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor and perceived lack of qualifications.

[71][72] Gaetz announced on X that he was withdrawing his name from consideration as attorney general on November 21, citing the fact that his nomination was becoming a distraction for the Trump transition.