Ryan Park, Biden Court Pick Stalled In The Senate, Withdraws His Nomination
WASHINGTON — Ryan Park, tapped by President Joe Biden for an appeals court seat, said Thursday that he’s withdrawing his nomination after it stalled in the Senate.
In a Thursday letter, Park informed Biden of his decision to formally withdraw from his nomination to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
“It’s disappointing, of course, not to be confirmed, but I love being a lawyer and I’m excited to continue practicing law,” Park, who is currently North Carolina’s solicitor general, said in a statement to HuffPost. “Attorney General-elect Jeff Jackson has asked me to stay on in my current role, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with him as he transitions into office.”
Here’s a copy of Park’s letter.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond and an expert on federal judicial nominations, called Park’s withdrawal “a travesty.”
“He was a highly qualified, mainstream nominee, who would have been an excellent member of the storied court,” he said. “Park displayed the most critical attributes of a judicial nominee in his hearing: intelligence, diligence, ethics, independence and especially measured judicial temperament.”
Tobias said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) had complained that the White House didn’t properly consult him about Park’s nomination, which was to a court seat based in North Carolina. But Biden “carefully evaluated four candidates” recommended by the two senators and a few others, he said, and after six months of engagement, ultimately nominated Park.
A Tillis spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tobias noted that Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) also treated Park badly during his Senate confirmation hearing, asking him questions like whether he would lie to the committee in order to be confirmed as a judge.
“Republicans’ shoddy treatment of Park may unfortunately dissuade exceptional people like Park from subjecting themselves to similar treatment,” said Tobias.
Park is one of four appeals court nominees languishing in the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) cut a deal with Republicans last month to move some of Biden’s judicial picks, but not all of them.
In exchange for Republicans agreeing to expedite votes on nine of Biden’s district court nominees, Schumer agreed not to hold votes on any of his four nominees to appeals courts, which are more powerful posts.
Schumer’s office told HuffPost at the time that none of Biden’s appeals court picks have the votes to pass. But progressive groups have been livid about the deal, and have called on Democrats to work late and otherwise catch the GOP off-guard by holding Senate votes when some Republicans aren’t there — anything to try to get at least some of these appeals court nominees through.
Some progressive judicial advocacy groups delivered sleeping bags to Democratic senators’ offices on Tuesday, along with a message: “Work late. Work weekends. Confirm every judge.”
“Every vacancy that doesn’t get a Biden judge will be left for Trump to fill with a loyalist committed to dismantling our rights,” Keith Thirion of the Alliance for Justice said in a statement. “There’s still time to finish every confirmation, including all four circuit court nominations.”
Another group, Demand Justice, spent Thursday putting up posters around Capitol Hill and driving a mobile billboard about the Capitol building urging senators to do “whatever it takes” to confirm all of Biden’s judges before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.
“Each federal judge confirmed is a critical guardrail in upholding our Constitution,” said Maggie Jo Buchanan, managing director of Demand Justice. “Americans deserve judges who will prioritize their rights over political interests. The Senate must deliver for them in these final days.”
They found an ally in at least one Democratic senator: Elizabeth Warren.
“It’s important to remember that Democrats in the Senate still have power, and how we use that power in the final weeks of this Congress really sets the tone for how we’re going to fight back,” the Massachusetts senator said in a statement.
“When Republicans were in charge, they ran ‘all the way through the tape,’ a phrase that then leader [Mitch] McConnell used,” she said. “Democrats need to do the same. This is the moment we need to keep pushing to run through the tape.”
But for the moment, she appears to be in the minority. On Thursday, as of around 2 p.m., the Senate was wrapping up its business and preparing to leave town until next week.
Biden nominated Park in July to replace Judge James Wynn, an Obama appointee who has said he plans to retire once his successor is confirmed.
The president’s other three appeals court picks who aren’t expected to get votes are Adeel Mangi, 3rd Circuit nominee; Karla Campbell, 6th Circuit nominee; and Julia Lipez, 1st Circuit nominee.
