National

White House abruptly withdraws controversial judicial nominee minutes before Senate vote

WASHINGTON – The White House abruptly moved Thursday to withdraw a controversial judicial nominee, just minutes before the Senate was poised to vote on the candidate's bid for a seat on the federal bench.

The nominee – Oregon prosecutor Ryan W. Bounds – had come under scrutiny for inflammatory writings he penned in college. Critics said Bounds used racially offensive language and was dismissive of sexual assault in those writings.

President Donald Trump had nominated Bounds to fill a vacancy on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

While attending Stanford University, Bounds derided groups promoting multiculturalism and civil rights, and he argued against expelling students for sexual assault.

"... There is nothing really inherently wrong with the University failing to punish an alleged rapist – regardless his guilt – in the absence of adequate certainty; there is nothing that the University can do to objectively ensure that the rapist does not strike again," he wrote, according to an analysis of his record by the Alliance for Justice, a liberal advocacy group.

And, “[e]xpelling students is probably not going to contribute a great deal toward a rape victim’s recovery; there is no moral imperative to risk egregious error in doing so,” he continued.

Bounds also called activism on behalf of racial minorities and gays and lesbians a “pestilence” that “stalks us” and “threatens to corrupt our scholastic experience,” according to the Alliance.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., characterized the judge’s writings as "ugly" and "intolerant."

"If you accept the view I have that a judge is held to a higher standard…this would have lowered the bar very dramatically,” Wyden said.

He and Oregon's other U.S. senator, Democrat Jeff Merkley, fiercely opposed Bounds’ nomination, and they lobbied intensely against him, buttonholing other senators and speaking for hours on the Senate floor Tuesday in protest.

Republicans hold a narrow 51-to-49 seat majority; GOP leaders were prepared to push ahead with a vote on Bounds’ nomination until one Republican, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, signaled his opposition.

“After talking with the nominee last night and meeting with him today, I had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to support him,” Scott said in a statement Thursday.

Scott is not known for bucking his party or picking fights with Trump. But he has spoken out forcefully on issues of race.

Merkley said Scott's decision was pivotal in forcing the White House to withdraw Bounds' nomination.

“The courageous stand of Tim Scott made a big difference, raising the dialogue with his caucus,” Merkley said.

Other Republicans said they supported Scott's decision.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of the GOP leadership, said he wasn’t aware of Bounds’ writings until recently.

“They weren’t racist,” Blunt said of Bounds' college writings. But he called them “not racially sensitive” and said they had sparked concerns.