October 12, 2018 - Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday issued the following statement on President Trump’s Ninth Circuit nominees for California:

            “I repeatedly told the White House I wanted to reach an agreement on a package of 9th Circuit nominees, but last night the White House moved forward without consulting me, picking controversial candidates from its initial list and another individual with no judicial experience who had not previously been suggested.

            “I met with Don McGahn on June 27 to discuss the vacancies and explained that Senator Harris and I strongly opposed Daniel Collins. I also told him Kenneth Lee had problems because he failed to disclose to our judicial selection committees controversial writings on voting rights and affirmative action. 

            “Last week, a reporter contacted my office stating that multiple sources close to the White House said I had rejected an offer that included Lucy Koh, James Rogan and Daniel Collins. This was false; no offer had been made or rejected—either formally or informally. In fact, as soon as I learned from the reporter about this alleged package I immediately wrote to Don McGahn saying I would accept this White House proposal of Lucy Koh, James Rogan and a third nominee from the White House’s list. There was no response to my letter.

            “The decision to move forward with these nominees without consultation or responding to my acceptance of the White House offer reflects President Trump’s desire to remake the court. I expect my blue slips to be honored as I was acting in good faith.”

Background

• In May 2018, a month after the death of Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Senators Feinstein and Harris recommended Judge Lucy Koh, Judge Andrew Guilford and Boris Feldman for the three Ninth Circuit vacancies. These candidates were the top three choices of Senator Feinstein’s bipartisan judicial selection committees. 

• Senator Feinstein’s judicial selection committees interviewed the five candidates recommended by the White House: Daniel Bress, Daniel Collins, Kenneth Lee, James Rogan and Jeremy Rosen.
  Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein