A judicial appointee of President Donald Trump has withdrawn his nomination following backlash over his treatment of a Christian family-owned farm that opposed same-sex marriage.
Michael Bogren withdrew his nomination to the District Court for the Western District of Michigan in response to opposition from GOP Senators, according to a story by Politico on Tuesday.
Multiple conservative groups, as well as Senate Judiciary Committee Republican members Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, opposed Bogren’s nomination, reported Politico.
Politico labeled the withdrawal a “rare and embarrassing setback for the White House, which has had little trouble getting the GOP-controlled Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees.”
At issue was Bogren’s involvement in a 2017 lawsuit filed by Country Mill Farms and its owner, Stephen Tennes, against the city of East Lansing, Michigan.
Country Mill argued that East Lansing unlawfully banned the company from taking part in the city’s Farmers’ Market due to the farm owner’s views against gay marriage, influenced by his Catholic beliefs.
“Tennes’ Facebook statement professing his religious beliefs about marriage and his decision to only host and participate in only those weddings on his family farm that comport with those beliefs violates no federal, state, or local law or policy,” stated the 2017 lawsuit.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski
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