Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley on Friday said he won’t vote next week to confirm Washington County Presiding Judge Danielle Hunsaker for a vacancy on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a statement, the senator said Hunsaker lacked experience for such a lifetime appointment.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Judge Hunsaker, and have received some positive references about her work. I believe, however, that a lifetime appointment to these critically important circuit court positions should be reserved for individuals with more extensive experience to draw upon,’’ Merkley said in the statement. “I appreciate Judge Hunsaker’s service on the state trial court bench in Washington County, but will not vote to confirm her at this time.”

Hunsaker was one of four names that Oregon’s two U.S. senators had forwarded to the White House for consideration, after the senators vigorously opposed the last nominee for the seat, federal prosecutor Ryan Bounds. Bounds’ name was suddenly withdrawn from consideration in July 2018 when it became clear the Senate didn’t have the votes to confirm him.

In August, President Donald Trump nominated Hunsaker to fill the court vacancy.

Gov. Kate Brown had appointed Hunsaker to the bench in 2017. She previously was a partner at Larkins Vacura Kayser law firm in Portland, where she practiced civil and appellate litigation in state and federal court.

Hunsaker had clerked for Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, whose seat she was nominated to fill. O’Scannlain assumed senior status in December 2016.

“I am delighted that the President has chosen Judge Hunsaker to fill the Oregon vacancy on this Court. I am gratified by her inclusion on the Wyden-Merkley list which should help ensure her quick confirmation by the United States Senate,’’ O’Scannlain said in a statement after her nomination. “It looks like the White House and the Oregon committee saw the same outstanding qualities that I saw in her when she clerked for me.”

At a September hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Hunsaker said that being confirmed as O’Scannlain’s successor would be “a highlight for me in my life,” although she called the prospect "daunting.''

During the hearing, Hunsaker told senators that she considers herself to be a "textualist'' and believes it is important to “stick with what our understanding was of the formation of our government when we started.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., questioned Hunsaker about her involvement in the Federalist Society, which has played a large role in putting conservative jurists on the bench. Hunsaker rejoined the group in 2017, after previous membership from 2002 to 2006.

Hunsaker told the committee that she joined the society as a law student because she was interested in debates and discussions about constitutional law and Supreme Court cases that the society sponsored. She said she rejoined in 2017 because a friend of hers had revitalized the Portland chapter after it had been dormant for some time.

After graduating from the University of Idaho College of Law, Hunsaker served as a law clerk to Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr., of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and for Oregon District Judge Michael W. Mosman. She later clerked for O’Scannlain.

Hunsaker earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Idaho and served as lead articles editor on the Idaho Law Review during law school.

She has previously served as president of the Washington County Bar Association and vice president of the Federal Bar Association’s Oregon chapter and was a board member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society in Oregon, an organization of Mormon lawyers.

The three other names the Oregon senators forwarded to the White House were Bruce Campbell, a partner at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn; James Egan, chief judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals; and Erin Lagesen, presiding judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The finalists were chosen by a bipartisan selection committee comprised of attorneys appointed by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Merkley and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden. Following interviews with eight applicants for the vacancy, each committee member ranked the candidates. The four highest-ranked candidates were forwarded to the White House.

"Please note that these are names of applicants who have applied, been considered by the selection committee, and judged by the committee to be qualified. We are not endorsing or implying support for any particular nomination,'' Wyden and Merkley wrote to the White House at the time.

Wyden said he intends to support Hunsaker, adding that he believes she has "displayed the judicial temperament'' needed for the position.

The Senate votes Tuesday on Hunsaker’s confirmation for the federal judge’s seat. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond Law School who monitors judicial nominations closely, said Merkley’s statement isn’t expected to hinder Hunsaker’s confirmation.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.