Goodwin Liu Withdraws

Slate Magazine reports:

Goodwin Liu, President Obama's nominee for a seat on the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals, sent a letter to the president a few hours ago officially withdrawing his name from consideration. Liu's nomination was filibustered in the Senate last week, when Republicans (and one Democrat) refused to give Liu an up-or-down vote.

In his letter, linked here, Liu makes reference to last week's failed cloture vote and the judicial vacancy crisis at the 9^th Circuit, to which he was nominated more than a year ago. "With no possibility of an up-or-down vote on the horizon, my family and I have decided that it is time for us to regain the ability to make plans for the future," he writes. He then thanks the president for his support.