A MAGA judge for New Jersey? You can thank the Democrats | editorial

It looks like Sen. Chuck Schumer has let the bigots get away scot-free: The majority leader just negotiated a deal that sold out President Biden’s Muslim-American judgeship from New Jersey for a pittance.

After the man endured one of the ugliest and most disingenuous smear campaigns in recent history – in which Republicans and their dark money allies spent nearly a year portraying Adeel Mangi, a respected Jersey City corporate lawyer, as a terrorist-loving and criminal-hater to portray flamethrowers – his nomination now appears dead. But that’s not all.

As part of that agreement, Schumer also apparently handed four of Biden’s critical appellate judge nominations — including Mangi’s — to Donald Trump instead. That means we’ll soon have a MAGA judge on the powerful appeals court representing New Jersey, Biden’s home state of Delaware and Pennsylvania, who will have the final say on virtually all cases in those states.

It would ensure the Republican majority in the Third District, which has the final say on nearly every major issue, from the integrity of our elections to civil rights and environmental protection. And for what?

Apparently, Schumer traded all of this for the dubious optics of confirming a handful of lower-ranking district judges. That and, believe it or not, the added benefit of not having to work long hours over the holidays.

So this isn’t just bigotry, folks. And the cowardice of some key Democrats who caved in the face of these lies. It is political misconduct. The Republicans did not create this mess alone, including with the vile and cartoonish attacks on Mangi. This is ultimately a story about the Democratic leadership and how it turned what was supposed to be a quick confirmation into a legal disaster.

Schumer’s office did not respond to our inquiries about this debacle last week. Other key players, including the White House, apparently were not consulted on the deal, multiple sources told us.

All Schumer has argued publicly is that these four appeals court nominees, including Mangi, did not have the votes needed to be confirmed, which is why he decided to agree to a deal “for more than three times the number of additional judges in.” “Future” to be given priority, said a spokesman.

He could say that this isn’t incompetence, that he got something for nothing because Democrats turned away from the bigger nominees, and that it would allow for quicker confirmation of other justices – putting the president within the realm of 234 judicial confirmations would bring Donald Trump‘s first term.

But that’s no excuse. The goal all along should have been to prioritize the far more powerful seats on the District Court – either by demanding a quick vote on Mangi before all those dirty tricks entrenched the opposition, or by calling him in when he couldn’t get the votes , replaced by another candidate who could.

And once the decision was made to stick with Mangi and the others, Schumer should have fought like a wildcat to get their confirmation.

Key members of his caucus have indicated they would be willing to confirm Mangi in the lame duck phase after the election, a Senate aide told us. Republican absentees have also allowed Biden to secure the confirmation of other lower-ranking district judges, although some Democrats have rejected the pick.

While votes on the more important appointees require more advance notice, Schumer had prime opportunities to try this in the summer and fall, the aide said. Whether he had a clear path to success or not, he would have had to work to find out.

“If there had been more aggressive planning in this vote, we might not be in this situation now,” said Jake Faleschini, program director for the liberal legal advocacy group Alliance for Justice.

Think about it: What would Mitch McConnell do? The Democrats also have to take tough action. “If Democratic senators are already easily passing this over while they are still in power, we will be in trouble when Trump actually takes office,” Maggie Jo Buchanan of the liberal advocacy group Demand Justice said in a statement.

There’s certainly a lot of shame in walking around here. Democrats who, like senators, prioritized their own political ambitions Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada also earn their share. Facing an ugly smear campaign, they felt the need to publicly announce their opposition to Mangi, which only made it harder for him to go lame duck.

Ultimately, however, this amounts to Schumer trading four of the most influential court seats for virtually nothing — because while Republicans have delayed confirmations of lower district court nominees, that would have forced everyone to work long hours. The holidays couldn’t have prevented them entirely.

“What should have been done instead is that Democrats should have stayed nights or weekends to get votes for everyone. And a compromise between these four circuits is a bad bargain,” Alliance for Justice’s Faleschini told us.

This was a failure of leadership and principle. The Democrats have made the worst possible decisions. Minority judicial candidates who make money in the private sector will look at this attack campaign and this absurd result and wonder why they would ever put themselves through such a thing.

And there will be a hell of a price to pay – including in New Jersey – if these powerful seats are now occupied by extremists.

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