[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2659-S2660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Adeel Abdullah Mangi

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, as chair of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee, one of my highest priorities has been the confirmation of 
judges to fill vacancies on the Federal bench.
  Since the beginning of the Biden administration, the Senate has 
confirmed over 191 highly qualified, independent, and evenhanded 
jurists to the Federal bench. It is my belief that there will be a 
total of 193 in just a matter of days. They represent the best of our 
legal system--demographically and professionally diverse judges who 
respect the rule of law, adhere to precedent, and above all, answer 
only to the Constitution. We should add another nominee to that list--
Adeel Mangi--who has been nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
the Third Circuit.
  What an amazing resume. Mr. Mangi is eminently qualified. He 
graduated from Oxford and Harvard Law School. He spent more than 20 
years in private practice at one of the top law firms in the United 
States. He focuses his practice on commercial litigation. Mr. Mangi has 
served as counsel of record in more than 30 matters before Federal 
appellate courts as well as eight amicus briefs submitted to the U.S. 
Supreme Court. He has gone above and beyond in his pro bono practice, 
devoting more than 4,000 hours to representing clients in religious 
discrimination, asylum, and employment discrimination cases.
  Based on his record, you would think Mr. Mangi would be quickly 
confirmed, but I left out one fact on his resume: He is a Muslim 
American.
  The treatment of this nominee before the Senate Judiciary Committee 
has reached a new low in many ways but also with historic echoes. More 
than 50 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson nominated Thurgood 
Marshall, who would become the first Black American to serve on the 
Supreme Court. In his confirmation hearing, Justice Marshall faced 
racist questions and McCarthy-like accusations that he was a Communist. 
If that sounds familiar, it is because Mr. Mangi--the first Muslim 
American nominated to the Federal appellate court--faced similar 
treatment at his hearing before our committee.
  Committee Republicans subjected him to irrelevant, combative lines of 
questioning about the Israel-Hamas war. They even asked whether he 
celebrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks in his home. Think about that for 
a second: An American coming before the Senate Judiciary Committee, of 
the Muslim faith, is being asked if he celebrates the 9/11 anniversary 
in his home each year.
  During the hearing and while under oath, Mr. Mangi unequivocally 
condemned anti-Semitism in all its forms and condemned any acts of 
terrorism no fewer than 10 times--10 times at one hearing. He also 
repeatedly denounced any form of hate or bigotry.
  Any insinuation that Mr. Mangi is anti-Semitic or a terrorist 
sympathizer is rooted in anti-Muslim bigotry that has no place in our 
country or in Congress. The claims are simply false. He has represented 
a broad coalition of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and other 
religious groups.
  As Mr. Mangi said, it is ``distinctly American for people of so many 
different faiths to come together in unity in this manner.''
  What has been un-American has been the treatment Mr. Mangi has faced 
since his hearing. Republicans are trying to blame Mr. Mangi for 
statements by other people at events he didn't even attend and wasn't 
even aware of. That is guilt by association. It is wrong. It is unfair.
  Republicans have unfairly attacked Mr. Mangi for his nominal 
affiliation with the Alliance of Families for Justice. They falsely--
falsely--claim that he supports ``cop killers''--that he supports ``cop 
killers.'' That outrageous allegation could not be farther from the 
truth.
  In Mr. Mangi's own words, he has ``not represented or otherwise 
provided legal services to any individual convicted of killing a law 
enforcement officer.''
  In addition, he has clearly stated:

       I condemn any violence against law enforcement officers 
     without equivocation.

  As Mr. Mangi noted, it is ``shocking and false'' to suggest that he 
has sympathy for attacks on law enforcement.
  On the other hand, during the Trump administration, Republicans voted 
unanimously to confirm two judges who had personally represented 
individuals who had killed police officers. Those individuals were 
entitled to their right to counsel--I am not arguing that point--but it 
just shows you how far they have gone in establishing a new standard--a 
totally unfair standard.
  The treatment of Mr. Mangi by the Republicans puts their hypocrisy on 
full display. There cannot be one standard for Republican appointees 
and another for Democrats. Based on Mr. Mangi's actual record, more 
than 125 civil rights and human rights organizations support him--
organizations representing more than 1 million Jewish Americans, 
including the National Council of Jewish Women and the Anti-Defamation 
League.
  I want to say this point: After the terrible hearing that he was 
subjected to in the committee in December, the Anti-Defamation League 
volunteered a statement to our committee, which I read into the record, 
in defense of Mr. Mangi and in criticism of the harsh and unfair 
criticism of those at his hearing who blamed him for being anti-
Semitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. These other 
organizations and ADL have openly supported his nomination and condemn 
the treatment he faced at his hearing.
  In addition, Mr. Mangi has received the support of a number of law 
enforcement organizations, including the National Organization of Black 
Law Enforcement Executives and a bipartisan group of former New Jersey 
State attorneys general and U.S. attorneys.
  Any judicial nominee should expect a close examination of his legal 
career before the committee. Since first being nominated, Mr. Mangi has 
been prepared for just that. However, he should not have to answer for 
baseless and bigoted attacks that do not accurately reflect him or his 
record in many different ways.
  In a letter of support, retired Third Circuit Judge Timothy Lewis 
contrasted Mr. Mangi's experience as a

[[Page S2660]]

nominee to his own experience as one of only two Black judges nominated 
to the Federal appellate court by President George H. W. Bush. Judge 
Lewis noted that he was treated with respect by Republican Senators as 
well as Democratic Senators, who held the majority. Judge Lewis urged 
the Senate to treat Mr. Mangi with the same level of respect that he 
received.
  He wrote:

       If people from underrepresented communities believe they 
     will be unfairly attacked, stereotyped, and rejected by the 
     Senate, they are likely to think twice about being nominated, 
     thus hindering efforts to make our courts look more like 
     America.

  Judge Lewis is right. I urge my colleagues to dismiss the smear 
campaign against Mr. Mangi and to support his nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.