Senate confirms conservative gay man to Ninth Circuit court

Patrick Bumatay

Lisa Keen | Keen News Service
lisakeen@mac.com

The U.S. Senate voted 53 to 40 on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 10, to confirm an openly-gay man to the nation’s largest federal appeals court.

Patrick Bumatay’s confirmation to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals makes him the second openly-gay person to be appointed to a federal appeals bench seat. The first was Todd Hughes, appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Circuit Court for the Federal Circuit and confirmed by the Senate in 2013 by a 98-0 vote.

Charles Moran, managing director of the national Log Cabin Republicans, said the group was “heartened” by the confirmation, adding that it makes Bumatay “the highest-ranking LGBT jurist in the nation.”

“He is an accomplished prosecutor with solid experience, and we’re thankful to President Trump for pushing forward with Patrick’s nomination and the Senate confirming him,” said Moran. “I know all Americans will welcome Patrick’s arrival on the Ninth Circuit, bringing some sanity back to the circuit most known for being out of the mainstream.”

The vote on Bumatay was along strict party lines, with 53 Republicans voting for confirmation, 40 Democrats and Independents voting against, and seven senators not voting. The Senate’s two openly-LGBTQ senators — Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., voted against confirmation.

The Ninth Circuit is the nation’s largest federal appeals court, with 29 seats and jurisdiction over 20 percent of the nation’s population, covering California and eight western states. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which has 12 judges, deals specifically with disputes involving international trade, government contracts and federal personnel, among other things.

Bumatay’s nomination was opposed by California’s two U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, both Democrats. During Bumatay’s Oct. 31 confirmation hearing, Feinstein said she appreciated the diversity Bumatay would bring to the bench but added that she did not think he has the experience necessary for the job. She also said she was “dismayed to learn through Bumatay’s written answers that he had worked on Trump administration policies that separated migrant families at the border,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Feinstein voted against confirmation; Harris was not present for the vote.

Bumatay worked in the White House Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush and worked as a federal prosecutor in San Diego since 2012.

During his opening statement at his confirmation hearing, Bumatay introduced the committee to his parents, his sister, his brother-in-law, two nephews and Alex, “my husband.” He noted he and Alex also had with them their two daughters, who were born in April. The daughters prompted a remark from Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who called them “precious.”

Bumatay’s confirmation hearing and his confirmation were overshadowed by controversy surrounding another Trump nominee to the Ninth Circuit: U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lawrence VanDyke.

LGBT groups opposed VanDyke’s nomination and the American Bar Association expressed concern that VanDyke might not be “fair to persons who are gay, lesbian, or otherwise part of the LGBTQ community.” During his confirmation hearing, VanDyke said he was shocked by that criticism, but later he implied that he had worked to help an LGBT group when, in fact, he had represented a group that sought to bar LGBT members.

The Senate took up debate on the VanDyke nomination after it confirmed Bumatay. His confirmation was expected to be approved today (Wednesday, Dec. 11).