Biden’s pick to be first Muslim American appeals court judge in jeopardy

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) told the Nevada Independent that she would not support Adeel A. Mangi’s nomination to the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, citing “concerns I’ve heard from law enforcement in Nevada.”

Rosen is the third Democratic senator — and second senator from Nevada — to come out against Mangi, a Harvard- and Oxford-trained lawyer in private practice who has been accused by Republican senators of being antisemitic and anti-police.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) have also said they would not vote for him. Cortez Masto expressed concerns about Mangi’s membership on the advisory board of the criminal justice reform group Alliance of Families for Justice. Manchin told Politico he will not vote for any judicial nominee who does not have at least some bipartisan support.

The White House said Thursday that it is still trying to marshal support for Mangi and convince lawmakers that the attacks against him are baseless.

“Some Senate Republicans and their extreme allies are relentlessly smearing Adeel Mangi with baseless accusations that he is anti-police,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said in a statement. “That could not be further from the truth, and the close to a dozen law enforcement organizations that have endorsed him agree.”

The White House earlier this month called the attacks against Mangi a “cruel, Islamophobic, smear campaign.”

Republicans and conservative groups such as the Judicial Crisis Network have accused Mangi of sharing antisemitic views espoused by panelists who spoke at events hosted by Rutgers Law School’s Center for Security, Race and Rights. Mangi, an experienced litigator and a partner at a New York law firm, previously served as a member of the center’s advisory board.

In 2021, on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2021, attacks, the center hosted a roundtable discussion that featured several controversial speakers. Republicans criticized that event and a more recent lecture on life under “violent occupation and settler colonial violence in Palestine,” which the center hosted just days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 Israelis and included the kidnapping of about 250 hostages.

During Mangi’s Dec. 13 nomination hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) questioned him about the Hamas attack and whether he believed they were justified.

“The events of October 7 were horrific. A horror,” Mangi said, noting that his time on the center’s advisory board did not mean he shares the views of all who work or speak there. “The attacks on civilians were abominable and against everything that I stand for.”

Mangi has separately drawn criticism from more than a dozen law enforcement organizations, such as the Police Conference of New York, according to Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. But other groups, including the International Law Enforcement Officers Association and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, are supporting him, as are the AFL-CIO, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and a coalition of more than a dozen Jewish organizations.

“Mr. Mangi has displayed the qualities of leadership, empathy, excellence, and persistence in supporting and defending the U.S. Constitution while ensuring equal protection and justice for all Americans,” NOBLE wrote in an endorsement letter reviewed by The Post.

Priya Purandare, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, also expressed support for Mangi in a statement. “The baseless attacks against Mr. Mangi have a chilling effect,” she said. “If left unanswered, the nation runs the risk of losing a generation of talent who shares Mr. Mangi’s faith from entering public service and the opportunity to compose a federal bench that reflects the changing demographics of the United States. History will remember this moment.”

With Cortez Masto, Manchin and Rosen opposed to his confirmation, Mangi would need the support of moderate Republicans such as Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) to be confirmed. The Judicial Crisis Network has launched anti-Mangi ads in Montana, Pennsylvania and D.C., targeting Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

If Biden pulls Mangi’s nomination or he withdraws, it would be a rare defeat for a president who has made diversifying the nation’s federal judiciary a key priority. Biden nominated Zahid N. Quraishi as the first Muslim federal district court judge early in his term.

Mangi would be Biden’s third judicial nominee to withdraw. Michael Delaney gave up his nomination to the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in May following Democratic concerns about his past work defending a New Hampshire boarding school in a lawsuit over sexual assault.

Less than a week later, Jabari Wamble dropped his bid to become a U.S. district judge in Kansas. The White House didn’t provide an explanation for the withdrawal, but the Associated Press, citing an official familiar with the confirmation process who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported that Wamble was expecting to receive a “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association, which grades judicial candidates.

The firestorm surrounding Mangi’s nomination comes at a time of heightened political sensitivity surrounding the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s prolonged military response. Threats against Arab, Jewish and Muslim Americans are on the rise, according to federal officials, and college campuses have been embroiled in angry debates over Zionism, Palestinian rights, antisemitism and free speech.

But Mangi’s supporters, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), still stand behind him.

“When we look at Mr. Mangi’s record — his professional life, his commitment to religious freedom and civil rights, his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee — it only reinforces his commitment to upholding and advancing the fundamental values we all hold as Americans,” Booker said in a statement Thursday.

“I’m proud to champion his nomination and I know the White House, Senate Democratic leaders, and I stand behind Adeel Mangi 100 percent.”