Wyden, Merkley cry foul over Bounds nomination advancing

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley issued the following statement on Thursday’s 11-10 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee to send the nomination of Ryan Bounds to the full Senate for a vacancy on the 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals:

“It’s a sad day for justice when Senator Grassley feels free to shatter an agreed-upon process that has long proved itself as a fair and bipartisan way to ensure nominees for a lifetime appointment to the bench meet the highest standards for honesty.

Today’s deeply troubling outcome can be summed up with this fact: the Senate Judiciary Committee has forwarded Ryan Bounds despite his decision to conceal inflammatory writings revealing his archaic and alarming views about sexual assault, the rights of workers, people of color, and the LGBTQ community to the bipartisan Oregon judicial selection committee.

Willfully ignoring the objections of both home-state senators to the nominee based on his lack of honesty and disturbing history sets an awful precedent that trades in established, successful rules for partisan, risky games that only inflame cynicism, partisanship, and public disgust with Washington, DC.”