By Jacqueline Thomsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jabari Wamble, U.S. President Joe Biden’s pick for a federal judgeship in Kansas, requested on Tuesday that his nomination be withdrawn from Senate consideration, a letter obtained by Reuters showed.
He became the second Biden judicial nominee to drop out in as many weeks. Michael Delaney, a former New Hampshire attorney general selected by Biden for a seat on the Boston-based US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, asked last week to withdraw amid bipartisan criticism in the Senate.
Wamble, the son-in-law of Democratic US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, wrote in his letter to Biden that he feels “it is best” to remain in his current position as federal prosecutor in Kansas. Wamble did not give detailed reasons for his removal.
Wamble was initially selected by the Democratic president last year for a seat on the Denver-based US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, but the nomination expired in the Senate. Biden in February then nominated Wamble to serve as a district court judge in Kansas.
The United States Constitution gives the Senate the authority to confirm presidential judicial nominations.
Following his retirement, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden is proud to have nominated Wamble, “who has dedicated his life to serving the people of Kansas.”
Politico was first to report Wamble’s withdrawal. He reported that some aides were concerned that Wamble would receive an “unqualified” rating from the American Bar Association, the group of lawyers that evaluates the qualifications of judicial candidates. No Biden candidate has yet received such a rating.
(Reporting by Jacqueline Thomsen; Editing by Will Dunham and David Bario)