As a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1920, McCamant surprised the GOP leadership by placing the name of Calvin Coolidge into nomination for Vice-President.

[6] McCamant received a recess appointment from President Calvin Coolidge on May 25, 1925, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge Erskine Mayo Ross.

[3] His service terminated on May 2, 1926, due to his resignation, though he would have been eligible to continue serving until the sine die adjournment of the first session of the 69th United States Congress on July 3, 1926.

[3] The lack of confirmation was partly due to McCamant’s support for Coolidge over Senator Hiram Johnson at the 1920 Republican Convention to select the Vice-Presidential nominee from the party.

[9] In 1922, McCamant dedicated the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider statue in Portland's South Park Blocks.