White House withdraws Ryan Bounds nomination

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Ryan Bounds, currently an assistant U.S. Attorney in Oregon, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.  In a party-line vote on Wednesday, the Senate ended debate on Bounds’ nomination, with a confirmation vote expected Thursday.  But Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) announced the decision to withdraw the nomination after Republicans realized they did not have the votes to confirm.  Bounds had been widely criticized for articles he wrote as an undergraduate at Stanford disparaging multiculturalism and campus groups concerned with racism.  Neither of Oregon’s Democratic senators supported Bounds' nomination.