Gay appeals court nominee withdraws bid after stalled process

Gay appeals court nominee withdraws bid after stalled process
Edward DuMont, an openly gay lawyer who was nominated twice by President Barack Obama for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has withdrawn his bid after a stalled confirmation process, telling the White House in a letter that "drawing the process out further does not seem either sensible for me or fair to the Federal Circuit." Senate Democrats blamed Republicans for blocking a hearing on DuMont's confirmation, but Republican staffers said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has the power to schedule a hearing. DuMont would have become the nation's first openly LGBT federal appellate court judge. Keen News Service (11/11), Metro Weekly (Washington, D.C.)/Poliglot (11/10)