Openly gay judicial nominee Edward DuMont has asked President Barack Obama to withdraw his nomination to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, D.C gay weekly Metro Weekly reported.

Obama first nominated DuMont over 18 months ago. But a reported Senate backlog on judicial nominations has kept DuMont from even receiving a committee hearing on his nomination.

If confirmed, DuMont would become the first openly gay appellate judge in the nation.

“I has honored when you nominated me to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and again when you resubmitted my nomination in January of this year,” DuMont wrote in a November 4 letter to Obama. “I have likewise been gratified by the support my nomination has received, both from professional organizations and from a bipartisan array of colleagues who know me and are familiar with my qualifications.”

“My understanding is that this inaction results from opposition on the part of one or more members of the Committee minority,” he added, referring to the lack of a committee hearing.

“Under these circumstances, drawing the process out further does not seem either sensible for me or fair to the Federal Circuit, which has important work to do and deserves to be able to address it with a full complement of active judges.”