Adeel Mangi, the nominee for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has voiced strong criticism over the way his nomination was handled, calling the entire judicial appointment process “fundamentally broken.” In a letter to President Joe Biden, Mangi expressed his gratitude for Biden’s support while acknowledging that his path to confirmation had been blocked. Despite his qualifications, he lamented the political gridlock that prevented his approval, describing it as part of a larger issue with judicial nominations.
Mangi’s nomination came to a halt after Senate Democrats and Republicans struck a deal post-election, which ultimately saw four appellate court nominations, including Mangi’s, sidelined. The deal allowed for the confirmation of district court nominees, but Mangi’s path to a seat on the Philadelphia-based court was blocked due to insufficient votes.
Mangi’s failure to secure confirmation means that a Republican nominee will likely fill the seat, further shifting the court’s ideological balance. The vacancy arose from the retirement of Judge Joseph Greenaway, an Obama appointee.
In his letter, Mangi accused his opponents of launching a coordinated smear campaign, driven by his identity as a Muslim. During his Senate Judiciary Committee appearance in December 2023, Republican members targeted him with questions about the Israel-Hamas conflict and the September 11 attacks, reflecting what he described as Islamophobic undertones in their line of questioning.
Mangi emphasized that the nomination process has devolved into a spectacle, fueled by “performative McCarthyism” and dark-money-funded attacks, particularly targeting minorities. He argued that the system is so broken that it discourages qualified individuals from considering public service, given the personal cost of enduring such attacks.
His nomination’s demise underscores the deepening partisan divide in the Senate and the challenges of navigating the increasingly toxic waters of judicial confirmations.
