Senate GOP Sees Antisemitism, Senate Dems See Diversity
WASHINGTON -- "Biden nominates union lawyer, Muslim American to U.S. appeals courts," read the Reuters headline in November when President Joe Biden tapped Nicole Berner and Adeel Mangi for federal judgeships.
I lead with the headline because I don't want to be accused of treating either would-be judge as a token. It's Democrats who did that.
When Berner and Mangi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December, Democrats noted that Berner would be the first LGBTQ judge on the 4th Circuit (Maryland) and, if installed on the Third Circuit (New Jersey), Mangi would become the first Muslim judge on any federal appeals court.
Another first: This would be their first time on the bench. Mangi, the National Association of Police Organizations warned, "has not even presided over a parking ticket case -- and now is nominated to the bench one step removed from the Supreme Court."
Ditto Berner.
During a December hearing, GOP senators noted that Berner had asserted that the right-to-work movement is "deeply racist."
Now she wants confirmation votes from senators representing 27 right-to-work states, including Nevada. So she offered that she had been speaking as a labor lawyer and does not see individuals who support right-to-work laws today as racists.
As for Mangi, Republicans grilled him about his role on the advisory board of Rutgers Law School's Center for Security, Race and Rights. On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the center co-sponsored a round-table discussion that "challenges the exceptionalization of 9/11/2001; legitimization of 'war on terror' and other imperialist wars and interventions.'" Some might call the timing insensitive. Others saw antisemitism.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned against giving "a lifetime appointment" to someone who advised and donated to the Rutgers center.
Mangi said he was unaware of the controversy until the hearing. He was on an advisory board.
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