Three Democratic senators have come out against President Joe Biden’s pick to be the first Muslim American appeals court judge as concerns grow that a vote on the nominee could hurt vulnerable senators up for reelection this year.
Adeel Mangi, a litigator who was nominated for a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in November, has been the subject of criticism due to his links to anti-police activism and his association with Rutgers Law School’s Center for Security, Race, and Rights, which Republicans believe has circulated antisemitic views.
However, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) became the third Democrat in the Senate on Wednesday to voice opposition to Mangi’s nomination, telling the Nevada Independent that she would not support him, citing “concerns I’ve heard from law enforcement in Nevada.” Rosen joins Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), who have come out against Mangi’s nomination to the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit.
A day after Rosen announced her opposition, leaders of the largest police unions, representing 40,000 officers in Pennsylvania, sent a letter to Senate leadership Thursday calling for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to “stand up for law enforcement” and oppose Mangi’s nomination, citing his membership on the advisory board of the criminal justice reform group Alliance of Families for Justice that called a person who murdered a police officer a “freedom fighter.”
Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), are going after Democrats for pushing Mangi’s nomination, claiming the party is in “the process of succumbing to noxious stains of anti-Semitism and soft-on-crime radicalism.”
“Our colleagues may not mind Mr. Mangi’s cavorting with apologists for terrorism and cop killing,” McConnell said during a speech on the Senate floor last week. “That much wouldn’t be surprising considering that their party is in the process of succumbing to noxious strains of antisemitism and soft-on-crime radicalism.”
The greater push to portray the Democratic Party overall as soft on crime continues to be a prominent theme in the presidential election as well. Former President Donald Trump attended the wake of a New York police officer killed in the line of duty and called for “law and order” on Thursday, an attempt to contrast himself with President Joe Biden.
But now there’s growing concern that Mangi’s nomination could be playing into that narrative, forcing vulnerable Democrats up for reelection to take a tough vote that could follow them to the ballot box.
“We know Democrats behind the scenes have already been telling the administration that Mangi doesn’t have the votes, so my question is why aren’t they pulling this nomination,” one Democratic strategist, who asked to remain anonymous in an effort not to harm his clients with ties to the Biden administration, questioned. “It’s an unfortunate situation and I sympathize, but we need to be doing everything we possibly can to reelect Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and making them vote on this isn’t doing that.”
“There is plenty of time for Biden to get a nominee like Mangi through if he can win this presidential election and expand our majority in Congress. But for now, every single decision needs to be made in the effort of that centralized goal,” the strategist added.
The White House is touting a slew of law enforcement endorsements for Mangi, which includes three former New Jersey attorneys general and two former U.S. attorneys general, plus endorsements from seven law enforcement groups.
“Mr. Mangi, who has lived the American Dream and proven his integrity, is being targeted by a malicious and debunked smear campaign solely because he would make history as the first Muslim to serve as a federal appellate judge,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
For now, the majority of Senate Democrats are standing by the nominee, with some calling the attacks against him a “smear campaign.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Mangi had “minimal involvement” with the Alliance of Families for Justice and that nothing he’s done could show he supports “cop killers.”
“As a longtime corporate lawyer, Mr. Mangi has never said or written anything, anything, that suggests he supports individuals who have murdered members of law enforcement,” Durbin said in a floor speech earlier this month.
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Mangi moved forward in the confirmation process after being approved earlier this year by the Judiciary Committee on an 11-10 party-line vote but faces mounting uncertainty due to Democrats’ slim 51-49 majority. Democrats would need at least two Republicans to cross party lines and support Mangi to get his nomination over the finish line.
Democrats are looking at a challenging map this cycle, with 20 Democratic-held Senate seats up, as are the three held by independents who caucus with the Democrats. Just 10 seats controlled by Republicans will be on the ballot.
