Biden Circuit Picks Derailed by Senate Deal on Trial Judges (1)
Posted on 11/21/2024
Senate Democrats have struck a deal with Republicans to advance votes on Joe Biden’s district court nominees while abandoning four pending appellate picks.
“The trade was four circuit nominees — all lacking the votes to get confirmed — for more than triple the number of additional judges moving forward,” a spokesperson for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Bloomberg Government in a statement.
The deal, and the lack of votes, effectively derails Adeel Mangi’s bid for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mangi, who would have been the first Muslim federal appellate judge, had generated unease among some Democrats amid conservative-led allegations that he’d affiliated himself with antisemitic and anti-police groups
Biden’s other circuit court picks who were awaiting floor votes include Ryan Park, North Carolina’s solicitor general, who was nominated for the Fourth Circuit. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he’d secured enough votes to sink the nomination on the Senate floor.
Karla Campbell, tapped for the Sixth Circuit, and Julia Lipez, picked for the First Circuit, are also impacted..
Full Deal
The deal allows Democrats to advance votes on district court nominees with less resistance in a chamber they still control with a 51-49 majority. It comes after Republicans had employed stalling tactics this week to complicate Democratic efforts to confirm as many of Biden’s judicial picks before Republicans gain control of the White House and Senate in January.
On Wednesday, senators voted until midnight to invoke cloture, or end debate, on four district court picks. That included Spark Sooknanan for the District of Columbia’s US trial court; Brian Murphy for the District of Massachusetts; Anne Hwang for the Central District of California; Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon for the Central District of California; and, around midnight, Catherine Henry for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Cloture was invoked Thursday on Gail Weilheimer for a seat on the same court, and Noel Wise for the Northern District of California.
Per the deal, the Senate will vote on confirmation of all these nominees when lawmakers return after Thanksgiving, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aid familiar with the agreement said in a statement.
The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Sharad Desai to the District Judge for Arizona, 82-12.
The Judiciary Committee also approved a slate of district court nominees Thursday who “will be placed on the Executive Calendar,” the leadership aide said.
The nominees include former Rep. Anthony Brindisi and Elizabeth Coombe for the Northern District of New York. In addition, Sarah Davenport for the District of New Mexico; Tiffany Johnson for the Northern District of Georgia; and Keli Neary for the Middle District of Pennsylvania advanced.
Stalling Tactics
Before the agreement, Republicans forced roll call votes on procedural motions that usually pass by unanimous consent. What should have only taken a few minutes when no senators object took several hours.
Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump himself, have pressured GOP senators to block Democrats from confirming anymore of Biden’s judge picks.
The deal leaves open seats created by Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr.'s full retirement from the Third Circuit last year, and First Circuit Judge William Kayatta Jr.'s decision to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement, in October. Both openings will aid Trump’s intent to cement his legacy on the federal judiciary, though with fewer vacancies than he started with in 2017.
Judges James Wynn of the Fourth Circuit and Jane Branstetter Stranch of the Sixth Circuit could still walk back their plans to semi-retire, since their vacancies are contingent on the confirmation of successors. Neither judge immediately returned requests for comment.
“The trade was four circuit nominees — all lacking the votes to get confirmed — for more than triple the number of additional judges moving forward,” a spokesperson for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Bloomberg Government in a statement.
The deal, and the lack of votes, effectively derails Adeel Mangi’s bid for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mangi, who would have been the first Muslim federal appellate judge, had generated unease among some Democrats amid conservative-led allegations that he’d affiliated himself with antisemitic and anti-police groups
Biden’s other circuit court picks who were awaiting floor votes include Ryan Park, North Carolina’s solicitor general, who was nominated for the Fourth Circuit. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he’d secured enough votes to sink the nomination on the Senate floor.
Karla Campbell, tapped for the Sixth Circuit, and Julia Lipez, picked for the First Circuit, are also impacted..
Full Deal
The deal allows Democrats to advance votes on district court nominees with less resistance in a chamber they still control with a 51-49 majority. It comes after Republicans had employed stalling tactics this week to complicate Democratic efforts to confirm as many of Biden’s judicial picks before Republicans gain control of the White House and Senate in January.
On Wednesday, senators voted until midnight to invoke cloture, or end debate, on four district court picks. That included Spark Sooknanan for the District of Columbia’s US trial court; Brian Murphy for the District of Massachusetts; Anne Hwang for the Central District of California; Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon for the Central District of California; and, around midnight, Catherine Henry for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Cloture was invoked Thursday on Gail Weilheimer for a seat on the same court, and Noel Wise for the Northern District of California.
Per the deal, the Senate will vote on confirmation of all these nominees when lawmakers return after Thanksgiving, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aid familiar with the agreement said in a statement.
The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Sharad Desai to the District Judge for Arizona, 82-12.
The Judiciary Committee also approved a slate of district court nominees Thursday who “will be placed on the Executive Calendar,” the leadership aide said.
The nominees include former Rep. Anthony Brindisi and Elizabeth Coombe for the Northern District of New York. In addition, Sarah Davenport for the District of New Mexico; Tiffany Johnson for the Northern District of Georgia; and Keli Neary for the Middle District of Pennsylvania advanced.
Stalling Tactics
Before the agreement, Republicans forced roll call votes on procedural motions that usually pass by unanimous consent. What should have only taken a few minutes when no senators object took several hours.
Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump himself, have pressured GOP senators to block Democrats from confirming anymore of Biden’s judge picks.
The deal leaves open seats created by Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr.'s full retirement from the Third Circuit last year, and First Circuit Judge William Kayatta Jr.'s decision to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement, in October. Both openings will aid Trump’s intent to cement his legacy on the federal judiciary, though with fewer vacancies than he started with in 2017.
Judges James Wynn of the Fourth Circuit and Jane Branstetter Stranch of the Sixth Circuit could still walk back their plans to semi-retire, since their vacancies are contingent on the confirmation of successors. Neither judge immediately returned requests for comment.
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