Senators Defend Sinking Biden Court Pick After Seat Goes to Bove

Nevada’s senators stand by their opposition to fellow Democrat Joe Biden’s ill-fated but historic Muslim nominee for an appeals court seat that will now be occupied by Donald Trump pick Emil Bove, who drew unified opposition from Democrats and even some judges questioning his fitness for the job.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, and now-former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WVa.), came out against Adeel Mangi last year, who afterward had no clear path to confirmation to a New Jersey seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. His nomination was never brought up for full Senate votes by Democrats in the majority.

Trump inherited the vacancy in his new presidency and installed his former criminal defense lawyer, who was confirmed on July 29 by Republicans now in control of the chamber.

Bove’s nomination drew questions from Democrats and others over his conduct while carrying out Trump’s second term agenda as top Justice Department official and during his years as a federal prosecutor in New York.

Rosen and Cortez Masto voted against Bove, and said in interviews after his confirmation that the fallout from Mangi’s nomination could’ve been avoided.

“President Biden had eight months to reappoint somebody for that position. He chose not to do so, and so there was quite ample time for there to be a different outcome here,” Rosen said.

Bove’s confirmation marked the end of a prolonged and bitter chapter in recent judicial nominations history, one that saw Mangi take the rare step of publicly denouncing “farcical attacks” he faced as Biden’s nominee to become the first Muslim federal circuit court judge.

It took roughly two years to fill the vacancy created by Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr.'s decision to retire from the bench in 2023. Greenaway was appointed by Barack Obama.

Bove tips the balance on a court that once had equal representation between judges appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents. The Third Circuit covers New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, and like other appellate courts sits one step below the Supreme Court.

Trump has also announced he’d nominate Jennifer Mascott, a law professor working in his White House Counsel’s office, to a Delaware vacancy on the court.

Mangi Reservations

Cortez Masto and Rosen expressed unease with Mangi over his association with a criminal justice non-profit with ties to Kathy Boudin, who was convicted for her involvement in a notorious 1981 Brink’s armored truck robbery that resulted in two police killings.

Mangi joined the advisory board of the Alliance of Families for Justice at the invitation of the organization following his pro bono representation of an inmate who was allegedly killed by prison guards.

Rosen said at the time that law enforcement groups in Nevada had concerns over Mangi’s nomination, amid her reelection bid for a seat Republicans hoped to flip. She won the race with 50.4% of the vote.

“You’ve got to assume that in New Jersey, millions of people live there. There’s thousands of attorneys,” Cortez Masto said. “Anybody could have filled that position that was qualified, that satisfied both the two senators concerns there, as well as the White House.”

Progressives at the time criticized the Nevada Democrats and Manchin for basing their opposition on “frivolous” and “bad faith” attacks led by Republicans.

“I don’t blame the White House for this. They picked somebody who, on paper, is clearly qualified,” said John P. Collins, a George Washington University law professor who tracks and studies judicial nominations.

“The fault lies, in my view, exclusively with the Democratic senators who fell for it and who refused to fight back against those bad faith, xenophobic attacks,” Collins continued.

Bove’s Rise

For progressives, Bove was the worst case scenario of leaving the vacancy to Trump, said Jake Faleschini, justice program director at Alliance for Justice.

“I think this was exactly the kind of nominee that we were particularly concerned about, a nominee that cares very little for the rule of law, that seems to have their only major qualification for this position being that they’re a loyalist to President Trump,” he said.

Mangi’s nomination languished for over a year, while Republicans moved swiftly to confirm Bove, 51-49, less than two months after his nomination. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Murkowski, opposed.

Senate Republicans fast-tracked Bove over the objections of Democrats, two judges who once sat on the same court, and others who questioned his fitness to serve as a lifetime-appointed judge.

He faced scrutiny over his decisions at the Justice Department to investigate FBI officials and to direct the firing of Washington prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases. His move to drop criminal charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams also drew criticism both inside and outside the Justice Department.

He also faced whistleblower accusations relating to the Adams matter and suggestions that government lawyers disregard court orders in an immigration case.

He repeatedly denied accusations of misconduct throughout his confirmation process. He specifically told senators that he “never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order.”

Republicans characterized criticism of him as false outrage and praised his credentials as a prosecutor. At one point, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) accused Democrats of carrying out a political hit job.