This was a nomination that was simply insufficiently vetted.
While the nominee was basically qualified, he wrote a bunch of stupid, inflammatory things on race that came back to haunt him 20 years later.
Senator’s Scott and Rubio declared against him this morning, which, combined with all 49 Democrats, doomed the nomination. Instead of holding the vote, Senator McConnell pulled the nomination from the floor and told Trump to withdraw it and nominate somebody else.
I suspected for some time this might happen.
While Bounds has done a decent job of trying to convince Republican Senators he has “grown” since his college day, in the end, Senators Scott and Rubio were unconvinced.
I think it was for the best. We can and should do better. I don’t think Bounds is a racist, but he has shown a lack of caution and discretion, that makes him unsuitable for the federal bench.
He is only the fourth outright failed Trump nominee. All in all, Trump’s handlers are making better choices, but there have been 4 duds to this point. I would balance that comment by pointing out there have been a bunch of fantastic nominees also.
But it points to the need for the White House staff to step up vetting and they need to interrogate nominees regarding ANY writings from their college days that might come back to haunt them.
