President Joe Biden’s latest slate of judicial nominations includes a New York-based litigator who would be the first Muslim American to serve on any federal appeals court, the White House announced Wednesday.
The nomination of Adeel Mangi to the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals underscores Biden’s stated goal of prioritizing personal and professional diversity in his judicial picks. The president has previously nominated three Muslim-Americans to federal judgeships, though one of them is awaiting confirmation.
“Today’s announcement of five highly qualified Article III nominees – four women, two nominees from a state represented by Senate Republicans, and three historic first nominees – continues the President’s drive to bring professional and demographic diversity to the federal judiciary and his commitment to working with Senators on both sides of the aisle,” White House counsel Ed Siskel said in a statement.
Mangi currently works in private practice in New York, handling trade secret cases, class action lawsuits and appellate matters, among other things, according to his firm biography.
Mangi has also handled a number of civil rights cases, his biography said, including “some of the most closely watched religious freedom cases of the Trump era, which involved two different Muslim communities denied permission to build mosques in (New Jersey’s) Bernards Township and Bayonne.”
The Third Circuit covers appeals arising from the federal courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands.
The other judicial nominees unveiled Wednesday include picks for several federal trial courts and the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last week, Biden celebrated the 150th federal judge confirmed under his administration, calling the moment “an important milestone.”
“One of the greatest responsibilities a President has is the appointment of federal judges. These judges—confirmed for life—play an integral part in our everyday lives,” the president said in a statement last week.
CNN’s Nikki Carvajal, DJ Judd and MJ Lee contributed to this report.
