Joe Biden Faces New Democrat Unrest Over Muslim Judge Nominee

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, has voiced her opposition to President Joe Biden's new judicial nomination, Adeel A. Mangi, and with Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, saying that he would not vote to confirm Mangi without bipartisan support, the president's pick may be in trouble.

Mangi would be the first Muslim American to serve as a federal appellate judge if the Senate votes to confirm Biden's pick for the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

Mangi, a Harvard University and Oxford University alumni, is currently a partner at New York-based law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. However, Mangi has been targeted over perceived ties to controversial rhetoric on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been accused of being anti-police.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates defended Biden's nominee in a statement on Wednesday.

"President Biden is proud to have nominated Adeel Mangi, whose extraordinary qualifications and integrity are gaining him new backing each day," Bates said. "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."

The spokesman added: "Senate Democrats should side with the qualities that makes America exceptional — which Mr. Mangi embodies — not the hateful forces trying to force America into the past."

Cortez Masto announced her opposition to Mangi's nomination on Tuesday.

"Mangi's affiliation with the Alliance of Families for Justice is deeply concerning," Cortez Masto said in a statement. "This organization has sponsored a fellowship in the name of Kathy Boudin, a member of the domestic terrorist organization Weather Underground, and advocated for the release of individuals convicted of killing police officers. I cannot support this nominee."

The judicial nominee is a member on the advisory board of Alliance of Families for Justice, a New-York based group that advocates for incarcerated people and their families.

When questioned by CNN about Mangi, Manchin said on Wednesday that from now on, he will only vote to confirm judicial nominees that garner bipartisan support.

"I'm going to be very honest with everybody, if my Democratic colleagues and friends can't get one Republican vote, don't count on me. You can't make it bipartisan, don't count on me," he said.

Manchin added: "I'm not leaving this place unless I can practice what I preach and I'm preaching, basically, bipartisanship." The senator announced in November 2023 that he will be retiring from the upper chamber when his term is up.

Newsweek reached out to Masto's and Manchin's offices, as well as the White House and Mangi's law firm, via email for comment.

The Democrats hold a slim 51-seat majority in the Senate with the three independents who caucus with them. If every Republican votes and even just a few Democrats vote against confirming Mangi, it could put him in a difficult situation.

Besides his role in the Alliance of Families for Justice, Mangi has also faced criticism for his former role as a member of the advisory board of Rutgers University's Center for Security, Race and Rights.

The center held a lecture on life under "violent occupation and settler colonial violence in Palestine" just days after Hamas led the deadliest ever Palestinian militant attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Mangi was asked about the surprise attack during his nomination hearing in December 2023.

"The events of October 7 were horrific. A horror," Mangi said. "The attacks on civilians were abominable and against everything that I stand for. I have no patience for any attempts to justify or defend those attacks on civilians."

Update 3/21/24, 5:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.