The knobby growths are indeed galls, yes, in this case caused by a soil bacterium. It's called crown gall (even though the galls don't always form around the crown of the plant), and unfortunately it is incurable. Growths can be pruned off, but it won't rid the plant of the infection, which will eventually create recurring galls. Infected plants need to be removed and replaced instead.

The plant appears to be a Euonymus (in particular, probably Euonymus kiautschovicus cultivar 'Manhattan', which is a very commonly planted non-native species). Euonymus foliage is quite palatable to deer, and the white discoloration is powdery mildew, a very common fungal infection which is minor and doesn't require treatment. If you wanted to replace the plant with a shrub other than Euonymus, there are a few options that deer tend to leave alone, though nothing is reliably deer-proof. What conditions the site has (how much direct summer sun, how well-drained the soil is, how large the plant can grow without relying on pruning to keep it compact, etc.) will determine what substitute plantings should do well there.

Miri