Department of Justice attorney Sparkle Sooknanan is the White House’s second nominee to replace Judge Florence Pan on the D.C. District Court.
Background
A native of Trinidad & Tobago, Sooknanan moved to New York City at age 16 to attend St. Francis College, graduating summa cum laude in 2002. Sooknanan subsequently got an M.B.A. with Distinction from Hofstra College in 2003 and then started work at HIP Health Plan. Sooknanan continued working there while studying in the evenings at Brooklyn Law School, getting a J.D. summa cum laude in 2010.
After graduating, Sooknanan clerked for Judge Eric Vitaliano on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S. Supreme Court. Sooknanan then joined Jones Day, becoming a Partner in 2020. Sookanan subsequently left Jones Day and joined the U.S. Department of Justice, where she currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division.
History of the Seat
Sooknanan was nominated, based on the recommendation of Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, to replace Judge Florence Pan, who was elevated to the D.C. Circuit on September 28, 2022. President Biden had previously nominated D.C. Superior Judge Todd Edelman to replace Pan, but despite being approved by the Judiciary Committee multiple times, Edelman never received a floor vote and his nomination was not resubmitted to the Senate in 2024.
Legal Experience
Sooknanan started her career in practice with a brief stint at the Department of Justice between her lower court clerkships and her clerkship with Sotomayor. During this time, Sooknanan had the opportunity to argue before the Ninth Circuit on a Federal Tort Claims Act case. See Dichter-Mad Family Partners, LLP v. United States, 709 F.3d 749 (9th Cir. 2013).
Between 2014 and 2020, Sooknanan practiced at the firm Jones Day. At Jones Day, Sooknanan was part of the legal team representing Everytown for Gun Safety as amici in a suit challenging Colorado’s background check laws. See Colorado Outfitters Ass’n v. Hickenlooper, 823 F.3d 537 (10th Cir. 2016). Sooknanan also represented defendants challenging their convictions relating to the illegal smuggling of drugs (now Judge Trevor McFadden was one of the attorneys representing the government on the suit). See United States v. Mosquera-Murillo, 902 F.3d 285 (D.C. Cir. 2018). One of Sooknanan’s most intensive cases from this time was her involvement in a multi-party litigation related to bonds issued by the Employee Retirement System of the Government of Puerto Rico. See In re Financial Oversight & Manage. Bd. of Puerto Rico, 914 F.3d 694 (1st Cir. 2019).
Notably, Sooknanan, alongside fellow former Supreme Court clerks Benjamin Mizer and Parker Rider-Longmaid, filed amicus briefs in support of the City of Charlottesville’s decision to remove Confederate statues. See City of Charlottesville v. Payne, 856 S.E.2d 203 (Va. 2021). The Virginia Supreme Court ultimately reversed a Circuit Court ruling putting the removal on hold. See id. However, due to Jones Day’s challenges to Pennsylvania election accommodations for the pandemic, Sooknanan resigned from Jones Day.
Since 2021, Sooknanan has been with the Department of Justice, most recently working with the Civil Rights Division.
Political Activity
Sooknanan has a limited political history, including donations to Secretary Hillary Clinton and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.
Overall Assessment
While Sooknanan doesn’t have experience as a public defender as Edelman did, her nomination is likely to prove fairly controversial as well. Her resignation of Jones Day and her work at the Civil Rights Division is likely to draw strong conservative opposition. With an election approaching, it remains to be seen if Sooknanan will be muscled through while Democrats have the attendance to do so.
The Vetting Room 
I wonder if they’re saving the TX nominees to fill up Thursday then? That would be my guess. After that it may be all budget stuff Thursday evening/Friday.
Overall, that’s a really good week.
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Wondering whether we get a nominee for the final Fourth Circuit vacancy tomorrow…
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Happy to see an Berner confirmed and she’s an A+ nominee but just the same, she needs to be the last nominee on the wrong side of 50 nominated.
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I have no doubts Berner will be an outstanding addition to the 4th circuit.
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Um, you know that most of the viable TN candidate we’ve discussed on this blog are over 50, right?.
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These are the nominees for tmrw’s hearing:
Sanket Jayshukh Bulsara, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York
Dena M. Coggins, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California
Eric C. Schulte, to be United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota
Camela C. Theeler, to be United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota
David O. Barnett, to be United States Marshal for the District of New Mexico
Clinton J. Fuchs, to be United States Marshal for the District of Maryland
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No Kanter. I think it’s clear who was causing the delay in sending that batch of nominations to the Senate.
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So all the worrying about Coggins missing a couple of hearing slots from posters here was for nothing. Good to see that she’ll be in the hearing along with the other nominees.
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Actually that’s the executive business meeting. Those folks had their hearing already. Still waiting on tomorrows list.
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Interesting tweet from John Doe on Mangi–the holdouts (wouldn’t say if they’ll support) are Tester, Baldwin, and Cortez-Masto. Manchin says he’s never heard of him, which is too cute by half.
I know she’s up for re-election, but would never have picked Baldwin as one of the holdouts. And Cortez-Masto has no excuse since she’s not up this year.
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Democrats were at full attendance today for the Berner vote, as she got to 50 (as Manchin voted no). Barring full attendance from Republicans tomorrow we should be fine getting Kiel and Lee confirmed and the VP won’t need to be on-call. I do wish cloture was sent out on Ali or something so you could confirm him during Thursday, knowing they have full attendance.
The nominations for tomorrow’s hearing still aren’t posted, I’m sure Republicans will be locked and loaded for Sooknanan though, right? Maybe Maldonado since she’s for an appeals court seat, but I’m sure nominations for the DC District Court are fought over the same way DC Circuit nominees are.
Other big question will be if we get any new nominations from the President. Could shape up to be a big judiciary day, with hearings, two confirmations of party-line nominees, and possible nominations.
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This article about Berner noted that she was Van Hollen’s recommendation to Biden – I didn’t have him flagged as one who would recommend good nominees, so that’s encouraging to see: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nicole-berner-union-lawyer-federal-judge_n_65f9ca4ae4b03f22de60efc9?5sm
Would explain the impasse if Van Hollen pushed for her – probably a battle of wills between Cardin and Van Hollen (with the WH on Van Hollen’s side). Cardin’s still an idiot because we could have easily lost the chance to fill this seat. Now Berner is someone who, despite her age, should be seriously considered if Sotomayor were to resign this year (I’d say she’d be better than Alison Nathan if the Dems wanted to appoint the first LGBT judge). The fact that SCOTUS does not have (and has never had?) a labor lawyer is insane.
Interesting (and great) that nobody claimed that Berber was Islamophobic or hated Palestinians based on the statements of some random Jewish organizations she might have had some contact with. Wonder what the difference between her and her co-panelist was…
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Burner on SCOTUS and the fireworks during her confirmation hearing and her wife’s connection to Kavanaugh would be something to behold.
Would make KBJ’s hearing look like a peaceful tea party.
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If Sotomayor were to leave this year, the replacement has to be Hispanic. There’s no two ways about it.
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Where has Manchin been living, under a rock?
From Politico:
Senate Democratic leaders and the White House have a ton of work to do to confirm a historic judicial nominee. They aren’t giving up just yet as they face hurdles in their own caucus.
In interviews on Tuesday, several Senate Democrats expressed reservations with the nomination of Adeel Mangi for a seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. President Joe Biden and senior Democrats are standing behind Mangi amid attacks from Republicans that critics knock as Islamophobic, though it’s plainly clear they don’t yet have the votes.
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.”
It’s a rare judicial snag for the Senate Democratic majority and Biden, who have generally worked seamlessly on judges — with a few exceptions. And Mangi’s nomination is historic: He would be the first Muslim appeals court judge if confirmed.
Republicans do not appear willing to provide any votes for Mangi at the moment, with many criticizing him for his role as an adviser to the director of Rutgers University’s Center for Security, Race and Rights, which GOP critics said brought antisemitic speakers to campus. Mangi denied knowledge of the speakers amid Republican questioning.
Without GOP support, Mangi needs 50 of the 51 Senate Democratic-caucusing members to support him, a tough task in an election year in which Democratic incumbents are defending seats in purple and red states. Three Democrats — Jon Tester (Mont.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) — declined to say they’d back the pick in interviews Tuesday. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), another swing vote on judicial picks, said he was not aware of Mangi.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Biden is proud to have nominated Mangi for the post and urged Senate Democrats to ignore “a malicious and debunked smear campaign” against his nomination.
“Every Senate Democrat should side with the qualities that make America exceptional — which Mr. Mangi embodies — not the hateful forces trying to force America into the past,” he told POLITICO in a statement.
Still, it’s going to take a serious whipping effort.
“I do” have concerns, Cortez Masto said, denying she agreed with attacks advanced by Republicans. “My concern is with respect to the organization that supports individuals who kill police officers.”
That organization appears to be the Alliance of Families for Justice, on whose board Mangi sits and which describes its mission as to “support, empower and mobilize families and individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.”
Tester said “we’re still taking input and I have not developed a position yet,” while Baldwin said in an interview that “I thoroughly look at every nominee who comes before the Senate — and I will be doing the same with him.”
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the chief deputy whip, said because floor action is not imminent the whip team hasn’t fully ascertained whether Mangi can be confirmed. But he also said it’s too early to declare the nomination finished.
Biden formally nominated Mangi in November 2023 to sit on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination in January on a party-line 11-10 vote. It’s also possible the Senate could move to confirm him after the election. CNN reported last week that the White House is aware of the challenges in confirming Mangi.
One former Republican judicial appointee, Timothy Lewis, urged “the Senate to treat Mr. Mangi with the same respect that I received in 1992” when the chamber confirmed him to an appeals court post as “one of only two Black judges to be nominated to a federal appellate court by President Bush.” The American Bar Association rates Mangi, a veteran New York-based litigator, as “well qualified” for the federal bench.
A number of outside groups, including the AFL-CIO, the Anti-Defamation League, a coalition of Jewish groups and the National Organization of Black Women in Law Enforcement, and the White House have vigorously defended Mangi’s nomination in recent days, slamming GOP senators’ questioning over the Israel-Hamas war and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as “Islamophobic.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), one of the leading Mangi backers, said he spoke out in a recent Democratic caucus meeting about the selection and a concerted dark money push to tank his nomination. The Judicial Crisis Network is running ads urging Tester and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), both incumbents, to vote against Mangi and called the nominee an “antisemite.”
“I’m concerned about the outrageous attacks that are happening to him that have nothing to do with fact,” Booker said in an interview, likening the volley of criticism to “slander” against the nominee.
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(I’m not one to constantly complain about WordPress, but it’s really killing me today. I’ll try again…)
Where has Manchin been living, under a rock?
From Politico:
Senate Democratic leaders and the White House have a ton of work to do to confirm a historic judicial nominee. They aren’t giving up just yet as they face hurdles in their own caucus.
In interviews on Tuesday, several Senate Democrats expressed reservations with the nomination of Adeel Mangi for a seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. President Joe Biden and senior Democrats are standing behind Mangi amid attacks from Republicans that critics knock as Islamophobic, though it’s plainly clear they don’t yet have the votes.
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.”
It’s a rare judicial snag for the Senate Democratic majority and Biden, who have generally worked seamlessly on judges —[…] And Mangi’s nomination is historic: He would be the first Muslim appeals court judge if confirmed.
Republicans do not appear willing to provide any votes for Mangi at the moment, with many criticizing him for his role as an adviser to the director of Rutgers University’s Center for Security, Race and Rights, which GOP critics said brought antisemitic speakers to campus. Mangi denied knowledge of the speakers amid Republican questioning.
Without GOP support, Mangi needs 50 of the 51 Senate Democratic-caucusing members to support him, a tough task in an election year in which Democratic incumbents are defending seats in purple and red states. Three Democrats — Jon Tester (Mont.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) — declined to say they’d back the pick in interviews Tuesday. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), another swing vote on judicial picks, said he was not aware of Mangi.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Biden is proud to have nominated Mangi for the post and urged Senate Democrats to ignore “a malicious and debunked smear campaign” against his nomination.
“Every Senate Democrat should side with the qualities that make America exceptional — which Mr. Mangi embodies — not the hateful forces trying to force America into the past,” he told POLITICO in a statement.
Still, it’s going to take a serious whipping effort.
“I do” have concerns, Cortez Masto said, denying she agreed with attacks advanced by Republicans. “My concern is with respect to the organization that supports individuals who kill police officers.”
That organization appears to be the the Alliance of Families for Justice, on whose board Mangi sits and which describes its mission as to “support, empower and mobilize families and individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.”
Tester said “we’re still taking input and I have not developed a position yet,” while Baldwin said in an interview that “I thoroughly look at every nominee who comes before the Senate — and I will be doing the same with him.”
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the chief deputy whip, said because floor action is not imminent the whip team hasn’t fully ascertained whether Mangi can be confirmed. But he also said it’s too early to declare the nomination finished.
Biden formally nominated Mangi in November 2023 to sit on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination in January on a party-line 11-10 vote. It’s also possible the Senate could move to confirm him after the election. CNN reported last week that the White House is aware of the challenges in confirming Mangi.
One former Republican judicial appointee, Timothy Lewis, urged “the Senate to treat Mr. Mangi with the same respect that I received in 1992” when the chamber confirmed him to an appeals court post as “one of only two Black judges to be nominated to a federal appellate court by President Bush.” The American Bar Association rates Mangi, a veteran New York-based litigator, as “well qualified” for the federal bench.
A number of outside groups, including the AFL-CIO, the Anti-Defamation League, a coalition of Jewish groups and the National Organization of Black Women in Law Enforcement, and the White House have vigorously defended Mangi’s nomination in recent days, slamming GOP senators’ questioning over the Israel-Hamas war and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as “Islamophobic.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), one of the leading Mangi backers, said he spoke out in a recent Democratic caucus meeting about the selection and a concerted dark money push to tank his nomination. The Judicial Crisis Network is running ads urging Tester and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), both incumbents, to vote against Mangi and called the nominee an “antisemite.”
“I’m concerned about the outrageous attacks that are happening to him that have nothing to do with fact,” Booker said in an interview, likening the volley of criticism to “slander” against the nominee.
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I feel like this should be confirmed after the election in the worst case situation, by then these senators will have either won and not have to worry for 6 years or lost and then why would they care.
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I imagine Manchin’s comment wasn’t serious (or he’s already decided to vote against every Dem circuit nom and is no longer bothering to learn their name).
Interesting that Baldwin and Tester are more noncommittal whereas CCM’s response is a no (or basically a no) – Matt Stiegler on Twitter is speculating that this means they don’t have the votes and is having a senator that just won in 22 take the responsibility. If the Dems running this year really think blocking Mangi is good politics, why aren’t they jumping to take the credit and show how moderate they really are?
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Because @Star doesn’t believe that’s how politics works? And we’re too dumb to understand that.
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If Sotomayor were to surprise us and retire I think Myrna Perez would be a slam dunk pick. Voting rights attorney, 3 years as an appellate judge. Also has the downstream effect of opening a potential appellate spot for Dale Ho or another one of the great NY district judges.
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During Berners judicial hearing did Cruz or Holloway ask her what her position on the 10/7 or War in Gaza was as she’s Jewish and Israeli or were those important judicial questions reserved only for the Muslim nominees?
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Berner and Mangi were on the same first panel. He got all the fire.
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I believe they also peppered Edward Kiel with a ton of questions about the 10/7 attack which is why it’s taken so long to get him confirmed. So that line of questioning goes beyond just Muslim nominees. They also subject non Muslim nominees of color to it as well.
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No, maybe Mangi’s nomination isn’t dead after all. I think Cortez Mastro could come around, as might Tester. No shock if Manchin is a no. We shall see…
Oh by the way, I just checked the ABA ratings website. Guess which nominee they haven’t rated yet… Kanter (along with the rest of the newest batch)
I wonder if this was/is the hold up. Seems needlessly conservative if that is the case, but not surprising given Durbing is the chairman.
We need six solid nominees tomorrow morning!
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If this is true, these are the things that boils my blood about Dems. Why do they insist on giving the ABA a veto on nominees? Isn’t this the third Biden nominee that’s run into issues due to a prospective bad ABA rating?
I don’t expect Dems to make waves. That’s just impossible for the party ATM. But can’t they at least match the Republicans on the judiciary? Dems are already at a disadvantage when it comes to judges, why do they saddle themselves with more obstacles?
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The ABA rated Kanter less than two years ago for her 2022 Superior Court election. They rated her Well Qualified. I’m sure her rating for this new position will be fine.
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That’s not how their ratings work. They aren’t interchangeable. Different judicial offices have different rating scale. Also, professionalism/temperament is a criterion. So you may get a WQ rating one year, but if the next year you yell and scream at court personnel and throw things at them, don’t expect another WQ when you’re up for a promotion.
Wasn’t Kavanaugh’s rating downgraded after the Ford allegation and his screeching rebuttal?
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Matthew Stringer on X made the good point that maybe they got Cortez Masto to speak as she’s not up for re-election this year and she can cover for some of the actual holdouts.
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Tammy Baldwin being a holdout doesn’t surprise me.
The defund police/ICE stuff that Mandela Barnes got behind sunk him in the end, Mangi having ties to the one group that he does is something she doesn’t want to touch if she doesn’t have to.
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Wanted to also point out Tester and Casey have been getting hit with ads on Mangi for the past couple of months now.
It’s why he should have put up for a confirmation vote right away, the longer his nomination, the more time it gave for the attacks on him to stick.
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https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/library?c=all&type=committee_questionnaire
They submitted the questionnaires for tomorrow’s panel . Still no Kanter
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Oh, and Mangi’s nomination is dead. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/03/19/congress/fight-over-judicial-nominee-senate-democrats-mangi-00147901
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With CCM’s announced opposition, there’s no path forward – they should pull it and renominate someone ASAP if they still want to fill this seat (which they must). If opposing Mangi is the great electoral play like some folks here think it is, I’m confused why none of the senators who are running for reelection now (and could use the boost from separating themselves from Biden) are taking the credit or co-signing the statement? If the first Muslim circuit nominee is going down because of right-wing smears, shouldn’t Dems be at least trying to get some benefit out of it?
I’ll be curious if progressives let this slide without any pushback in the next few days – that will probably determine if we ever get a Muslim appeals court nominee again, as I doubt the WH is going to nominate Quraishi when the right will repeat their same smears (and just as importantly, I question if Quraishi would even put himself through this when there’s a real risk that there’s not enough time to get him confirmed).
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Unfortunate situation all around. I really wish Dems had simply circled the wagon and confirmed him.
That being said, the silver lining is that there is no dearth of quality candidates to nominate and plenty of time to get them confirmed prior to the end of the year. Time to get moving though.
With six more appellate nominees needed now, I hope the WH can announce at least one tomorrow
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As this article points out, one of Trump’s nominees, Anurag Singhaal, who actually represented a person who killed a cop:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/adeel-mangi-muslim-judicial-nominee_n_65f486e1e4b0651fa4a2b1ec
And who were some of the Dems to support Singhaal?
Casey
Tester
Catherine. Cortez. Masto.
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And of course, Rosen too: https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1161/vote_116_1_00416.htm
This hypocrisy, combined fact that they felt the need to kill it now rather than agree to vote for Mangi in the lame duck? Hard to see how Islamophobia isn’t a factor here.
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I’ve never understood this line of attack. Every criminal is entitled to a defense. As a matter of fact, a vigorous defense. An attorney would not be doing their duty if they didn’t do such. So unless the attorney did something unethical, why is WHOEVER they defended a problem. It really bothers me.
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Most people (including Jacky Rosen) don’t understand the legal system and assume “lawyer representing bad person must support the bad person,” so senators think it’s an easy attack. I 100% agree that lawyers shouldn’t be penalized for defending unpopular clients – my issue isn’t that these senators voted for Singhaal, but rather that they did and then turned around and claimed they can’t vote for Mangi for the same reason (even though he never represented or helped the individuals who allegedly killed the cops).
This logic is so weak that Cortez Masto and the other Dems insult our intelligence by trying to sell it to us as a pretext – in fact, the conservative ads didn’t even attack him for this, but instead for “being an antisemite.” Anybody who thinks Mangi’s Muslim faith had nothing to do with his nomination being blocked is just kidding themselves.
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WOW… I get caught up in work for a couple hours & miss a LOT… Sad to see some of the names as to who is opposing Mangi. I truly hope the WH is able to convince them they should not let right wing smear attacks take down a solid nominee over the two-week Easter recess. Unfortunately, if not, I would quietly ask Mangi to withdraw. The WH can’t be seen as being the one to pull the nomination. Even if we know they are in full support of him, they will get blamed regardless. I truly hope they are already vetting whomever they are thinking about replacing him. It’s almost April, this decision needs to be made ASAP either way.
I was sad to see no cloture motions filed by Schumer today. I know they have a plate full for tomorrow. I’m assuming the budget votes can’t start until Friday so I was hoping for some judicial action on Thursday.
Kanter is TOAST. No way she misses three SJC hearings & there is nothing wrong. I don’t know what the problem could be but there is no shortage of possibilities to replace her so let’s get going Butler & Padilla.
Tomorrow is shaping up to be a HUGE day. The long-awaited new batch which I hope is more than five nominees. Some district court confirmations as well. WE also get a SJC hearing with a circuit court nominee included. I truly hope we also get a cloture motion or two sent tomorrow as well. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
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Oh I’m sure Mangi’s going to issue a statement saying that he withdraws – that’s how these are usually done. I don’t think it’ll save the WH from any backlash though (to the extent progressives even work up the spine to say anything), and even if the WH tries to pin the blame on Cortez Masto (which it doesn’t have the guts to do), it isn’t going to make a difference.
I could see the electoral backlash being minimal if they nominate another Muslim nominee, but Quraishi would likely be the only option. He wasn’t even mentioned as a possibility last time, so vetting would take too long (and would leave a district-court vacancy). I also checked and Quraishi is a member of the NJ Muslim Lawyers’ Association, and I’m sure somebody there has criticized Israel in a way that can be twisted to be antisemitic. Quraishi’s resume also suggests he’d be a conservative (or at most moderate) vote on CA3, and Biden might get pushback from immigration groups/Latinos already annoyed about the border deal if he then nominates somebody who served as a lawyer for ICE.
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Biden would definitely get push back from progressives if he nominated Quraishi. I wasn’t thrilled about him for the district court but held my tongue because I felt it was important to get the first Muslim on the federal bench after Obama’s nominee never got a vote for the DC district court. But no way is he progressive enough to be considered for a circuit court seat with a Democrat majority in the senate.
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Thurs business meeting canceled
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/
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Ironically, Kanter was the nominee to replace the previous failed nominee Marion Gaston, who IMO was likely done in by her paper on sex offender restrictions not working (accurate but not something senators in an election year want to get anywhere near.)
Not sure what the issue is with her but it’s clear at this point her nomination is toast, as you don’t miss three meetings without something being up.
As for CCM and others, the logic they will use with Mangi is it’s one thing to vote for people who represented cop killers or others because they were doing their jobs as lawyers, it’s another to belong to a group that was co-founded by a convicted cop killer whom many opposed being paroled at all.
You may think that’s crap logic but that is what they are being attacked on and reacting to.
I know those trapped in their bubble where this stuff doesn’t matter one bit want to think otherwise but IMO, this was the kiss of death for his confirmation.
The Islamphobic stuff was vile but I think he would have survived it.
The other stuff though nope, and that is also on Durbin/WH for not pushing for confirmation faster and giving the opposition time to keep hitting Tester/Casey and others.
At this point, the writing is on the wall, the only question is when we see that he has withdrawn.
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There is a bright side to Cardin’s stunt. That is, Nicole Berner was confirmed at all. Given Manchin’s opposition, Berner would be unconfirmable in 2021-22, so had Cardin/Van Hollen wanted to make sure to fill the seat before the midterm elections, they would have gone with someone more moderate who could get Manchin’s vote.
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The most hearings anybody’s missed under Biden before getting a hearing is six, and that was Andrew Schopler, also for SD CA. Perhaps the ABA panel there is particularly slow (they gave him a WQ)? There were a lot more pending nominees back then (~50), accounting for some of the delay, but he still waited five months for a hearing, which was a lot longer than was necessary.
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Andrew Schopler was nominated in July 2022. We had three batches in one week that Summer. Plus the regular batches every two weeks. He missed hearings because there were not enough slots per hearing. There is no excuse for Kanter. Not one of the three hearings she missed had six nominees, which is the max I’ve seen.
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There were still a dozen nominees nominated 2+ weeks after him that got hearings 2+ weeks before he did. There was something unique there.
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Looking at some of the nominees that got a hearing before him despite being nominated after him, they seemed to be more liberal than he was. With polls in the Summer of 2022 showing Republicans were likely to take the senate, it made sense back then to fast track the more liberal nominees. Andrew Schopler is the type of nominee that could be confirmed even if Republicans were in the majority.
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There must be something in Rebecca Kanter’s record that we don’t know about. If it’s fatal, better to go back to the drawing board now.
The election is approaching and BIden’s approval ratings are dangerously low. Maybe the wise strategy is to choose someone who generates no objections. I’ve mentioned AUSA Shireen Matthews in the past. She’s a Democrat who’s already been vetted and no one had any problem with her.
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@Mitch, At this point, anyone who isn’t a member of the Federalist Society is going to get objections by Republicans if they’re nominated.
As for polling, I don’t think anyone should fool themselves that Biden could lose (he very easily could) but as was pointed out, polling in 2022 had Republicans doing a major red wave that failed in the Senate and saw them barely take control of the House.
I think it’s broken IMO but I digress, if there’s an issue with Kanter, withdraw it and get someone else in there ASAP.
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What are the betting odds that Nancy Maldonado gets confirmed before Seth Aframe? I would probably give it a 50/50 chance if not greater.
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@Dequan, I’ll guess we’ll know by Thursday or Friday to see who Schumer sets up cloture votes for.
Along with the TX nominees, I expect Robert White to be confirmed but beyond that, who knows what order they’ll go in?
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I will be shocked if they don’t find something to make a fuss about with Maldonado and turn her into a party-line vote – guess we’ll find out tomorrow.
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I was factoring that in. I still think her being from the home state of the SJC chairman gives her at least an even chance at being confirmed before Aframe who was nominated in October. Illinois nominees are fast tracked probably the second fastest to any state behind Delaware. If Kent Jordan were to go senior in the next month or two, I would have little concern of that Delaware seat on the 3rd getting filled before New Years.
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A lot of it depends on how she performs in her hearing. If she sails through, she’ll def get fast tracked. Regardless, I think there’s def a strong likelihood she’ll be confirmed ahead of Aframe.
Aside from the Durbin connection, her appointment will also trigger a backfill. (Please note, we’re all well aware of your thoughts on when the backfill process should take place)
From a PR perspective, I think they will want to be able to push the narrative of the history making Maldonado Circuit appointment as a counterbalance to the Mangi nom potentially failing.
One other thing, is I can see the WH pushing the Ali and Kashubai confirmations. It’s one thing for the Republicans et al to claim that they are voting against someone not bc of Islamophobic but bc they have legitimate concerns about one judge. It’s harder to pull off that narrative with three judges in a row.
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Hadn’t realized Krissa Lanham grew up in Thailand. She was born there and graduated from a British International School in Bangkok. I’d assume she’s not a diplomat’s kid, as the chances of them staying place for 18 years is basically nil (though they could have left and returned), but I’m guessing her parents were some other sort of expat?
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I just finished reading Krissa Lanham’s SJCQ too. Here are some interesting things I noticed;
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I was curious how the new NJ Supreme Court justices have been now that the CA3 seat is open again, so I looked into their recent opinions. Surprisingly, it seems like (1) Fabiana Pierre-Louis has been very fair and good on criminal law, (2) Rachel Wainer Apter seems to have sided with the Republican appointees in every decision, even ones where Democratic appointees are dissenting. It’s a small sample size for sure, but she even sided with the Republicans on a criminal issue over the dissent of Pierre-Louis and Rabner (a moderate Dem).
I don’t think this means Wainer Apter is actually a conservative or anything (the Republicans on the NJ Supreme Court don’t seem nearly as crazy as the ones on the federal bench), but I do think Pierre-Louis is more liberal than her resume would’ve suggested. I wish she hadn’t withdrawn from the CA3 process, but I completely understand preferring to be the final word on New Jersey law rather than being bound to follow the utter hackery coming out of SCOTUS these days.
Noriega seems great though, and definitely the most liberal of Murphy’s picks – he’d be a great candidate for CA3 (especially because he has immigration experience), but even if he would want to leave the NJ Supreme Court for CA3, he’d also be a tough confirmation.
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Governor Murphy is the second coming of Jerry Brown when it comes to a governor picking progressive justices to their states Supreme Court. I am thankful he wasn’t upset in last years off year election. I wish he was running for the US senate instead of his wife.
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@Hank
That’s really interesting about Rachel Wainer Apter. What a disappointment that would be if she turns out to be more closely aligned with the Republicans on the court. Her appointment to the court was hard-fought and held up for over a year, if memory serves.
Again, and like you said, it’s not surprising that Pierre-Louis or others opted against the 3rd circuit appointment. No NJ supreme court justice has ever accepted that appointment. Of course, this is not an inexorable rule. SCOTUS is a different matter, with at least two NJ justices.
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Yeah I wonder if Wainer Apter feels pressure to be more moderate because her confirmation process was so contentious – NJ Supreme Court justices have to first get reappointed after 7 years before they get tenure until 70, so to the extent Wainer Apter cares, she may be trying to demonstrate that she’s not as liberal as the NJ Republicans made her out to be.
Either way, she reminds me of Holly Thomas on CA9 – both civil rights lawyers who went into government and have been more of a standard Dem nominee than someone particularly progressive. At the same time, Pierre-Louis and Koh have been more progressive than expected – shows that these things are tricky to predict.
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With Berner’s confirmation, Biden now ties Obama for appointing the most LGBT Federal judges. They both appointed 11 LGBT judges.
Obama hit that number over the course of two terms whereas Biden hit it within his first term and he has the potential to add more before the election this fall.
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Interesting, I just read on Twitter that Biden signed Berner’s commission last night (per Nate Raymond). This will allow her to participate in this week’s en banc 2nd Amendment cases.
Anyone remember this happening so quickly with other recently confirmed judges?
Waiting for nominations to drop this AM (nothing yet)…
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Nothing really interesting about that. Trump signed Kavanaugh’s commission almost immediately after communicated by the senate of his confirmation.
Also, the signing of the commission does *not* equate taking office. So she might not get involved with an en banc sitting this week.
Commissions and taking the oaths of office are usually up to the judges-designate, based on their availability.
Sometimes (usually for show) the oaths and come before the commission.
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WOW… I count six times Biden has signed a circuit court nominees commission the next day but never the same day they were confirmed. That is absolutely amazing. As much as I hate the Trump presidency, I wish Biden would do one thing Trump did. I wish he would publicly sign things & hold them up for the cameras, AKA do that for judicial commissions. I would love to see that actual entire process all the way through.
And I certainly hope what Nate Raymond reported is true & will be a sign of things to come. No time to waste. Between the time it takes from the initial application, to interviews, to FBI background check, to at least four weeks after announcement to SJC hearing, to being held over for at least a week to whenever their final confirmation vote is, it’s a wonder to me why any circuit court nominee isn’t ready to start the same day they are confirmed like Berner apparently was.
And I too am up now & refreshing the White House site. I think the first thing I will look for is how many nominees there will be. Then I will look for if any are circuit court nominees (Which I doubt). Then I will look at who they are.
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I highly doubt Berner is going to be hearing cases this week (especially today) – being “ready to start” is different from being prepared to hear arguments on a case. It doesn’t matter how long the nominee’s been waiting, as I’d be surprised if a court would ever share case files and documents with a nominee before they actually get confirmed. No judge is going to jump into a case blind/last minute.
Luckily CA4 has an 8-6 Dem majority so Berner’s vote wouldn’t be decisive on this week’s en band cases unless one of the Dems join the Republicans. I don’t know the exact issue up before CA4 this time, but if it’s a Second Amendment issue, my guess is the court splits on partisan lines.
And don’t they usually announce nominees by now? Does this mean no nominees this week?
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I’m starting to get a little antsy….usually nominees are out by mid morning, although there have been exceptions in the past.
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Me too. I can see almost no chance we don’t get new nominees today after four weeks. I know there have been some errors on recent batches announced so I’m hoping they just added another layer of checking the work before releasing it. That might explain the reason for the delay today.
And this SJC hearing ain’t helping the stress. Biden really should try to release two circuit court nominees at a time. It would be much better to have two nominees in panel one instead of allowing Republicans to grill just one nominee. They are going much harder at Maldonado than I thought.
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I’m not watching the SJC hearing, but of course the R’s are going hard on Maldonado – Cortez Masto (and whoever she’s covering for) just demonstrated how weak-willed Dems are when it comes to judicial nominees, especially nominees of color. Give an inch and they’ll take a mile.
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What’s surprising is that you think Republicans would do otherwise.
I don’t know how many times we need to say that Republicans don’t care about how centrist or uncontroversial a Dem nominee is, especially for a higher court, they will attack them! They will find anything to attack them with. They are really scraping the bottom of the barrel with the case disposition rate criticism for Maldonado. That’s what I would expect. Stop expecting Republicans to willing give Dem judicial nominees free passes. This is why “moderate” nominees are so terrible, because they’re going to be attacked anyway. Might as well make it worth it.
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@Dequan, not a surprise.
She’s going to keep a seat that is part of the liberal wing in the Democratic column(Rovner was easily the most liberal of the George Sr judges) instead of allowing for another flip down the line like they did with Williams or Evans (both still anger me, especially the latter) so they’re going to go after her.
Plus, it’s an election year.
Any court seat Republicans can try to keep open for Trump/any other Republican for Federalist Society hacks down the line they will.
If nothing else, if we lose the Senate, Republicans can and will keep seats open for years.
They did it with Obama/Clinton, will gladly do it with Biden and anyone he nominates.
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The GOP attacks on nearly every nominee that isn’t a red state blue slip pick are going to keep getting worse the closer we get to the election… Democrats really need to prepare to just ignore the noise and move forward with their nominees before too much public backlash can percolate.
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Oh, lord, here goes Kennedy bringing up Sooknanan’s Jones Day service…
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Ever notice that when Kennedy starts going after noms who are women of color, the he gets this giant Cheshire cat grin on his face and he kind of perches himself up a bit in his chair.
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Well, it’s almost high noon and no new nominees. If there are no nominees this week that would be a colossal f up and I don’t know if there could even be a hearing in April. What a careless and totally unforced error
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Who knew Josh Hawley was so anti-hedge funds?
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Here is my write up of today’s SJC hearing…
Panel one
Graham spoke about him just getting back from Ukraine & he hopes the House can pass some funding for them.
Sinema introduced the Arizona nominees. Durbin then did his introductions.
Maldonado was asked by Durbin about any surprises she has had since becoming a judge. She mentioned her chamber is next door to the jury room & she can hear the jurors laughing & talking through the walls.
Graham questioned why Maldonado has a backlog of cases. Graham asked her if she has spoken to Chris Kang of Demand Justice & the head of the Hispanic Bar Association. She spoke about her communication with both. He then asked her about her past statements after the deaths of George Floyd & Breonna Taylor. He asked her about a past statement critical of President Trump.
Booker then piggybacked on Graham’s questioning to give Maldonado a chance to clarify her answers. He then joked about her doing Yoga & being flexible.
Kennedy asked her why she is the least productive judge in the entire 7th circuit with 125 motions pending & ranked 7th worst nationally. Maldonado answered she is more concerned about quality than speed. He asked her out of all the judges in the circuit, is she the one that deserves to get promoted. He then asked her about her pro bono brief on behalf of The Brady Center regarding banning assault weapons. Durbin tried to cut Kennedy off as his time expired & Kennedy repeatedly asked if she felt she deserved to be promoted. She answered she stands by her record.
Butler asked Maldonado if she would follow precedent in gun cases. She then gave her a chance to explain her process to decreasing her case loads.
Blackburn asked Maldonado about her relationship with Chris Kang of Demand Justice. She asked her if she supports their position of increasing the number of Justices to the SCOTUS. She then questioned her on her backlog of cases. Blackburn asked her about her fitness for the promotion.
Lee then asked her about her civil docket cases backlog. Durbin ended panel one as stating Maldonado has never been reversed.
Panel two
Durbin stated all nominees in both panels were given a WQ by the ABA. He started his question asking Alexakis about her working in the hate crimes division of the Justice Department. He spoke with Lanham about her growing up in Bangkok, Thailand which is where she was born because her father was working there at the time.
Kennedy asked Martinez about state police power & if the federal government has police power. He then asked Sooknanan about a NY Times article that was written during the she was partner at Jones Day regarding the Pennsylvania Supreme Court extending the time for an election. He asked her about comments she made about the client that Jones Day was represented, the Pennsylvania GOP. Kennedy accused her of leaking information of the case to a reporter. She repeatedly denied that she leaked that information. Kennedy repeatedly accused her of leaking the information to The NY Times & she angrily & repeatedly denied the accusation. Durbin cut Kennedy off & recognized Butler.
Butler allowed Sooknanan to follow up on Kennedy’s line of questioning. She introduced letters of support from many Jones Day attorneys.
Hawley then asked Sooknanan about her Jones Day hedge fund clients. He asked her about her Puerto Rico debt crisis. Hawley then accused her of leaving Jones Day because they represented Donald Trump. She denied that was the reason she left the firm & she left because she got a better opportunity. Hawley ended his questioning asking her if she had anything to say to the people of Puerto Rico.
Whitehouse then spoke about the Supreme Court & the decline of jury trials.
Welch then stated he does share Hawley’s concerns about Sooknanan’s representation of hedge funds. He said he wouldn’t hold any individual lawyer accountable for their representation.
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Kennedy’s exchange with Martinez was weird. His question was vague and he disagreed with her answer, but she was able to correctly define everything and as she was explaining why she thought the power was in part derived from both amendments, he cut her off and just said no. She replied with, “if you say it comes from that amendment, that’s where it comes from” and you could see her thinking “I just need smile and grin and bare it and let this old rambling white dude feel like he’s correct.” And once he did that, he moved on. Senator Kennedy just seemed extra smarmy today imo.
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For some good news. Bernie Moreno handily won the GOP nomination for Senate in Ohio. He was without a doubt the weakest candidate to run against Sherrod Brown. It doesn’t mean that Brown will beat even him in a red state, but it makes it more likely that the Dems can hold the seat in November.
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That was some gaslighting by Hawley to pretend to care about the people of Puerto Rico with Sooknanan.
I expect he’s doing that with the hopes some liberal Senators will balk at confirming her.
I will say this from today’s hearing, as election season heats up, I expect the attacks on nominees to get worse and a lot more party line votes.
I expect everyone from today to get confirmed but not as easily as folks think.
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If you would have told me yesterday that it would be noon today & we would have no new batch & Josh Hawley would be a man of the people who is fighting for the residents of Puerto Rico, I would have had you fitted for a straight jacket. I’m not sure how Hawley got through his line of questioning without cracking a smile. If this hearing was a couple weeks earlier, he might have been nominated for an Academy Award. I don’t think Robert Downey Jr. could have played the role in the category of best bull shitter any better.
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Just a question, but why couldn’t a new batch be announced tomorrow? We’ve had Thursday batches before.
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By tradition (don’t think it’s a hard and fast rule), there needs to be 28 days between announcement and the hearing date before nominees can appear.
Of courser SJC can always change their own rules, but I don’t know if Durbin could get away with that without a lot of pushback, and he’s been reluctant to do that in most cases.
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Manchin voted against Kiel. I guess I’m not too surprised. Kiel’s only fault seemed to be the fact that he didn’t condemn the Gaza attacks strongly enough, or at least not to Miss Marsha’s liking.
Also, it looks like the GOP’s initial attack narrative on Maldonado is that she’s gonna take away your guns/assault weapons. I hope the citizens of Lewiston, ME flood Collins’ office with calls.
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Just saw that. Wish he would actually explain his justification. Thankfully Wicker and Mullin missed the vote, and hopefully are out all day.
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I think i may have heard them say Wicker for the confirmation vote so they might need the VP.
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When’s the latest this admin’s announced judicial nominees? A bit past 5:30?
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Looks like it. Number of announcements by hour:
Hour: announcements (Wed. announcements)
6am: 1 (0)
7am: 4 (3)
8am: 4 (2)
9am: 14 (12)
10am: 3 (2)
11am: 2 (1)
12pm: 3 (1)
1pm: 2 (1)
2pm: 2 (0)
3pm: 2 (1)
4pm: 6 (5)
5pm: 3 (1)
In the past year, Wednesday announcements have come in the hours of 7am, 9am x8, 10am, 12pm, and 4pm.
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Wow, great job Star.
Usually we get word from the local press first and then the official WH announcement later. I guess it’s possible the local media is keeping it quiet until it’s been announced?
Time for some wild speculation, but what if one of the nominees is in Alaska? There is time zone difference. Ok, now I’m grasping at straws.
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Is there anything noteworthy about the 4pm nominees? Spicier picks?
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33 have been announced from 4pm to 5:30pm; it’s possible that that’s the deadline that’s been set for GOP senators on blue slips, as both Mathis and Colom are among them. So there’s a slight chance that this means we’ll be getting circuit nominee(s) from TN. Outside of those two, the spiciest seem to be Nathan (with Mathis) and Kasubhai, so overall a pretty tame group.
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It’s probably just random, but one interesting bit is that the late announcements have a lower success rate. Of the 197 Art. III nominations we know the outcome of, 187 (94.9%) have been successful. Among those announced before 4pm, 159 of 165 (96.4%) have been successful, while 28 of 32 (87.5%) announced after 4pm have been successful. Removing Colom’s doomed nomination only raises it to 90.3%. Delaney, Rodriguez, and Gaston are also among the group, but I don’t see much tying them together. Perhaps they knew of Hurd’s objection to Rodriguez and had set a deadline in that discussion.
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I suspect both Kiel and Lee will be party line votes.
I suspect Robert White is going to be the last nominee to get a few Republican votes for a while.
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I think so too. And Manchin is a Republican when it comes to party line votes these days.
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I believe Manchin voted for cloture on Kiel tho.
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Manchin initially voted yes on cloture but came back and switched his vote to no. Unless Mullin is around the final vote should be 50-49, if there’s complete attendance then I’m not sure if the VP is in town today.
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You think both Arizona nominees would be party-line votes? I thought for sure when Desai was nominated that her confirmation was going to be a 15-round boxing match, but got a voice vote in committee and had a fast-tracked confirmation vote (wasn’t she involved in cases regarding voting rights in Arizona, which already is a triggering subject for certain Republicans?). If anything I’d think Republicans would like Sinema enough to back her nominees, no?
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@TSB In an election year, nothing would shock me.
I’m still surprised by Desai, because as you said, given the work she did I think we all expected her to be a tougher confirmation vote then she was.
But that was then and this is now and I think the closer it gets, the chances of party line votes go up.
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Why are we considering Desai’s confirmation votes in such a vacuum? Desai only got the treatment she did in the senate because of Sinema. Remember that Sinema lobbied Republicans hard on the floor and got at least one to change their vote.
Also, wasn’t also around/between the time she helped to tank Biden’s Build Back Better bill and before she supported the Inflation Reduction Act? Back then when Republicans wanted to make nice with her.
With her upcoming retirement, I’m not sure how much sway she still has over Republicans. Then again, the stakes are lower for the district court seats.
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@Gavi is correct – the Desai vote was happening at the same time that Republicans were trying to get Sinema to tank the Inflation Reduction Act (which didn’t happen) or at least preserve the loophole for private equity earnings (which did). R’s have no incentive to do anything of the sort these days, especially when they all think (not unreasonably) thst Trump is going to win in the fall and bring a Republican Senate along with him.
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Kiel was just confirmed on a party line vote and will fulfill a judicial emergency.
On that note, it’s another reason I think the Kanter nomination is in trouble, as the seat she is up for is also one just like Kiel’s was.
One would think they would push her through faster because of that.
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Kiel confirmed 50-49. Manchin was the last vote before the vote ended so he was one of the first voters on the Lee cloture, looks like he voted no if I read his hand gesture correctly lol.
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I hope the reason Manchin is voting. I on so many nominees is he is still giving some consideration to Schumer plea to change his mind & run. I doubt it this late but still hope. I would still expect Justice to win but at least force the GOP to break a sweat before flipping the seat.
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…and there it is. Manchin has you in suspense. There’s NOTHING he loves more than attention.
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Haaaaaaa… Yup. Except this suspense movie has the balance of hundreds of millions of people at stake depending on the ending. Hopefully his thirst for power will get him to change his mind.
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I tend to agree with Ads. I think Manchin clearly wants to increase his anti-Biden vote percentage (don’t ask me why, I simply don’t know to what end). He doesn’t want to tank uncontroversial nominees, but if his vote isn’t needed, looks like he’ll vote NO. That’s how I interrupt the Kiel vote when Manchin went back to chance his vote.
That’s just my wild speculation.
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I think he’s leaving the possibility of it open. But if Jim Justice wins the GOP primary, he’s the next senator. Manchin would have no chance. If you can somehow get Alex Mooney to win the primary, then there’s a chance with Manchin as an independent. The question is whether it is worth the effort to run a tranche of ads attacking Mooney for being “too conservative” when Trump has endorsed Justice.
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I think you’re right Gavi. Manchin, for his faults, is mostly a team player and always has been. He supported every Biden nominee in 2021-22 because he had to; now he has more freedom so he’s performing more of an act.
My assumption this whole time was that he’s running for WV Gov but maybe he really is going to try and do an Independent bid. He is the expert on winning races in West Virginia, so I will defer to him, but it would certainly make Republicans sweat a bit.
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Just listened to the 4th Circuit’s en banc oral arguments today and Judge Nicole Berner did participate, although she did not ask any questions. I wonder if the Senate coordinated her vote so she would be able to participate. Although I don’t doubt she would be a reliable liberal vote on the Court, its great to immediately gauge where she is on the idealogical spectrum when these en banc decisions come out.
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Holy smokes Batman. Participating in oral arguments less than 24 hours from confirmation. This makes her confirmation that much more amazing. Thank you senator Van Hollen for the recommendation of this outstanding judge. Thank you Demand Justice for including her in your recommendations for Biden SCOTUS vacancies. I’m in such a good mood, I’ll even reserve my comments for senator Cardin… Lol
Now back to refreshing the White House website. It’s not looking good for a new batch today.
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The Eumi Lee cloture vote has been stuck at Yea – 48 & Nay – 49. Where are the missing Democrats at? Come on, these votes are too important.
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Baldwin & then Casey just voted. Cloture invoked 50-49
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/catherine-cortez-masto-adeel-mangi-judicial-nominee_n_65fa4f50e4b03f22de6133f4?v42
Another article about Mangi and why it was a mistake to let his nomination linger for so long after his hearing.
As vile as the Islamphobic attacks were, he would have survived those IMO.
But as this article makes clear, the bigots trying to stop him figured that out and went with plan B and started smearing him as supporting people who kill cops because of a group he joined.
That has stuck and CCM will be going with the he choose to join this group versus doing his job as a lawyer defense to justify voting again him while voting for folks who defended cop killers.
And I don’t see people changing their minds on this.
For folks angry about that, the reality is many states including NV aren’t as progressive/liberal as you think/want them to be so it’s not shocking to see the no votes playing out the way they have.
Like I said, the WH/Senate dropped the ball with Mangi by not setting up a confirmation vote ASAP when they KNEW conservative groups would be coming for him.
Sad to say but at this point, the only question is when he withdraws, not if.
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They really didn’t let his nomination linger for that long. He and Berner were only voted out of SJC on January 18. Now I’d argue that two months is about 7 weeks too long but when you compare it to just about every other appellate nominee that’s pretty normal.
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@Joe I know but in this case, this is one that should have been fast tracked as it was clear the knives were going to be out for him.
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Exactly. Circuit court nominees like Federico & Kolar could wait because they are starting off with two Republican yes votes. Cloture should have been filed the following Monday & Tuesday for Berner & Mangi after they got voted out of the SJC. I’m sure the Secretary of Buttering Biscuits is an important position but for God’s sakes nothing should come before confirming circuit court nominees.
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