The Senate Majority Leader today moved to withdraw Ryan Bounds’ nomination for a lifetime appointment on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Had he been confirmed, Bounds would have become the first circuit court nominee in American history to be seated despite the objections of both of his home-state senators. Todd A. Cox, Policy Director at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), provided the following statement:
“Senator Tim Scott stood up for racial justice in telling Senate leadership that he could not vote to confirm Ryan Bounds based on his offensive writings, which we flagged in February. As we’ve consistently said, it’s incumbent upon each and every Senator to exercise their ‘advise and consent’ power to ensure that only judicial nominees who will defend equal justice under the law are confirmed to federal courts. Vigorously vetting the administration’s choices for the judiciary takes time and, as was the case here, can often unearth disqualifying information. We encourage the Senate to learn from the example of the Bounds’ withdrawal and slow down Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court so that every Senator has the chance to thoroughly review his record.”
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
