Tipsheet

Radical Biden Judicial Nominee in Trouble As Democratic Sen. Cortez Masto Publicly Opposed

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  March 20, 2024 12:15 PM

There's always been concerns regarding President Joe Biden's embattled nominee for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Adeel Mangi, but as more opposition comes to light, it looks like his nomination is in even further peril. As Katie highlighted on Tuesday, the nomination puts Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a tough place, although the White House continues to stand by Mangi. We'll see if that remains the case for much longer, given that Democrats are on the record opposed, including Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Lest one thing it's an election year concern, Cortez Masto just won reelection in 2022.

In addition to how bad it looks for Schumer, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), who serves as the majority whip as well, is also facing scrutiny. POLITICO not only mentioned Cortez Masto's opposition, who said in a statement that "I cannot support this nominee," but addressed Durbin's concerns as well:

And Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he’s getting questions about Mangi from his Democratic colleagues.

“He’s an excellent nominee,” the Illinois Democrat and Senate majority whip said in an interview. “I know a lot of the other information that’s been generated on the other side is distorted and unfair. So, he’s not without controversy, but I think he’s an extraordinary individual.”

That's quite the spin from Durbin, who is "getting questions," because it would seem Mangi is less than "an excellent nominee." It's not mentioned what "the other information that’s been generated on the other side," which Durbin claims "is distorted and unfair." Mangi has long been the subject of scrutiny for his association with antisemitic and anti-police groups, and thus the opposition continues to grow. 

That coverage was also mentioned in this morning's edition of POLITICO Playbook:

JUDGE NOT — The 3rd Circuit nomination of ADEEL MANGI inched further into peril when Sen. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO (D-Nev.) announced her opposition last night, Anthony Adragna, Burgess Everett and Ursula Perano report. He is a White House priority and would be a historic pick as the first Muslim appeals court judge, but other Democrats are expressing concerns and Republicans seem unlikely to vote him through.

In particular, there are concerns to do with Mangi's associations as a board advisor with the Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) at Rutgers Law School. Mangi was personally recruited for CSRR by Sahar Aziz, the executive director who "is named in a newly filed lawsuit alleging antisemitism at Rutgers Law School and has blamed Israeli for the 10/7 massacre."

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Aziz has also been exposed for her problematic reposts when it comes to the October 7 terrorist attack that Hamas terrorists perpetrated against Israel. 

Senate Judiciary Republicans have also been focusing this week their opposition to Mangi based on his association with anti-police groups who refer to cop killers as "freedom fighters," as Katie also covered.

That there would be opposition from Democrats is not surprising. This is not only because of those concerns of Mangi's association with anti-police and antisemitic groups, as Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have warned about. POLITICO refers to "two other Democrats expressed reservations with the nomination of Mangi for a seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals."

Last week, CNN  warned in a headline that "Democratic senators have privately warned White House that votes aren’t there to confirm Biden’s Muslim judicial nominee." We'll see if more members are willingly to publicly come forward with their opposition, after Cortez Masto was willing to do so. "Multiple Democratic senators and their staff have privately warned the White House in recent days that there does not appear to be enough votes in the Senate to confirm Adeel Mangi, President Joe Biden’s Muslim-American judicial nominee, sources familiar with the conversations tell CNN – appearing to suggest that the confirmation of one of Biden’s top-priority judicial picks is in peril," that report began by mentioning.