Washington, D.C. — Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 to advance the nomination of Ryan Bounds to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit despite the objection of both his home-state senators, Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). If confirmed, Bounds will become the first federal judge in history to be seated after both home-state senators declined to return forms, known as “blue slips,” that would indicate support. Sens. Merkley and Wyden opposed his appointment due to bigoted comments that he made while writing for a student newspaper at Stanford University and the fact that he failed to disclose those writings to the state nominating commission. In response, Jake Faleschini, director of Federal Courts at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Today, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) violated a long-standing Senate tradition in order to rubber-stamp another of Trump’s extreme judicial nominees. There are dozens of attorneys in Oregon more qualified to be a federal judge than Ryan Bounds. This administration should not be doling out lifetime appointments to federal judgeships because a person has family connections and a history of extreme ideology. With his actions today, Sen. Grassley continues to enable this administration’s culture of corruption and cronyism.
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