Confirmation of Biden's Muslim American judicial nominee facing opposition in Senate

In what could be a significant setback for President Joe Biden, a number of Democratic senators have begun signaling to the White House that there are likely insufficient votes to secure confirmation of Adeel Mangi, the administration's Muslim American choice for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, as CNN reports.

While supporters of Mangi have touted the historic nature of his nomination, critics have expressed concerns over his connections to organizations with questionable positions on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Some of those reservations were voiced during a heated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing back in January, though lawmakers narrowly voted to advance his candidacy, just the same.

As the New York Post noted at the time, several Republicans asked pointed questions about Mangi's prior involvement as a member of the advisory board for the Rutgers Center for Security, Race, and Rights.

The group, connected to Rutgers Law School, has hosted speakers who have pleaded guilty to association with known terrorists, and the organization has reportedly had ties to terror groups.

One lawmaker went to far as to brand the group “basically a mouthpiece for Hamas,” a perception which has made Mangi's nomination more contentious than ever in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

Faced with intense scrutiny from conservative senators regarding his links to the group, Mangi asserted that he was unaware of its controversial programming, as he was not involved with that facet of its operations.

Conservative legal activist Carrie Severino wrote earlier this month that Mangi's ties to extremist groups may be deeper than he acknowledged, and she pointed to a revelation in the Washington Examiner about his involvement with a 2022 conference for the National Association of Muslim Lawyers “sponsored by Hamas allies and the terror-tied Council on American-Islamic Relations.”

Mangi did not disclose his role in that event to the Senate Judiciary Committee, something which Severino suggested last week raises questions about what other associations and involvements he may be hiding from lawmakers.

Democrats have claimed that Republican opposition to Mangi's confirmation stems from pure Islamophobia, with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) leading that particular charge.

“What is it about Adeel Mangi that attracts such criticism? We know what the starting point is. He would be the first Muslim American to be appointed to serve on the circuit bench.... And we know because of that he is a target,” Durbin declared.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) fired back, calling the accusation “absolutely outrageous,” adding, “I resent the insinuation that those of us who asked him questions are somehow anti-Muslim or prejudiced in some way.”

As such, it now appears that the nomination is in jeopardy, though Biden administrations are reportedly working the phones to drum up support, and the president himself seems reluctant to backtrack on his pick, even in the face of opposition from multiple law enforcement organizations that pointed to Mangi's affiliation with anti-police activists.

In the words of Severino, “What more does President Biden need to see in order to withdraw Mangi's nomination, effective immediately?”