Wyden, Merkley Send Names to White House for Prestigious Appellate Court Judgeship

Oregon's two U.S. Senators today announced the names of four Oregonians they are putting forward for a vacancy on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) sent a letter to the White House including the names of four people whom their vetting panel thinks would be good replacements of Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, who has served more than 30 years on the federal bench. The panel included representatives appointed by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.).

Here are the names:

-Bruce Campbell, a partner at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn and leader of the firm's appellate practice and co-leader of the firm's Oregon litigation team.

-James Egan, Chief Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals

-Danielle Hunsaker, Presiding Judge, Washington County Circuit Court

-Erin Lagesen, Presiding Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals

Last year, the White House ignored the wishes of Wyden and Merkley and instead nominated Assistant U.S. Attorney for Oregon Ryan Bounds for the position. Walden, the only Republican member of Oregon's Congressional delegation, suggested Bounds to the White House.

That was a departure from the normal protocol in the selection of federal judgeships, which are usually the province of a state's U.S. Senators.

Bounds' nomination eventually failed after an advocacy group surfaced some  op-eds Bounds wrote in college that expressed incendiary views on race and gender. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) withdrew Bounds' nomination after the Senate's only black Republican, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he would not vote for Bounds.