Mitch McConnell pulls vote on Trump judicial pick Ryan Bounds, declares nomination dead

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Thursday pulled a vote for President Trump’s pick for a federal appeals court judgeship just before it was due to be held after a number of GOP senators expressed concerns about racially insensitive statements his nominee, Oregon assistant U.S. attorney Ryan Bounds, made while at college.

“For the information of all senators, the nomination will be withdrawn,” McConnell said during a floor speech.

Bounds was named in September as Trump’s choice for an open spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, headquartered in San Francisco. He would have been Trump’s 24th appellate judge.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, confirmed that it was Trump who withdrew the nomination. “The president withdrew it and the president’s got the authority to do that,” Grassley said.

After noting a “very transparent” vetting process, Grassley added that he “can’t be surprised” that the nomination was pulled at the last minute. “I’ve had two — after after we’ve voted on in committee — I’ve had two district judges withdrawn. I can’t be surprised, I’ve done that myself,” he said.

The office of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the development concerning Bounds’ college writings did not bode well for Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has also come under scrutiny for arguments he’s made over the course of his legal career.

“A lower court nominee’s college writings are relevant but a Supreme Court nominee’s White House writings aren’t? I don’t think so,” Schumer’s office said in a statement.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the only black Republican in the Senate, was among the dissenters. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., additionally voiced his opposition. Their lack of support was enough to derail the vote, given the GOP’s thin majority in the Senate.

“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, per the Associated Press.

According to the Alliance for Justice, a liberal judiciary advocacy group, Bounds criticized multicultural organizations on campus when he was a student at Stanford University, as well as making controversial comments about worker’s rights and LGBT issues.

He later attended Yale Law School.