White House Pulls Circuit Court Nominee at Last Minute

The following article by the Roll Call staff was posted on their website July 19, 2018:

Ryan Bounds nomination to 9th Circuit was set to be voted down

The nomination of Ryan Wesley Bounds for US Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit was withdrawn at the last minute by the White House amid questions about his past writings. Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call file photo

Facing imminent defeat even in a Republican-controlled Senate, the White House on Thursday withdrew the nomination of Ryan Wesley Bounds to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, an abrupt turn of events just moments before the chamber was set to vote on confirmation of the judge.

The late-breaking issue appeared to be writings that came to light and turned the tide against him with some Republicans.

“There were some writings from when he was a student at Stanford that were maybe not racially sensitive. They weren’t racist but there is some concern that the issue could have been handled with more sensitivity,” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said.

View the complete article here.