Trump's judicial pick may need Democrats' support to survive
Democrats may be the key to saving President Donald Trump’s embattled judicial nominee.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are weighing whether to support Halil Suleyman “Sul” Ozerden, a friend of acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney who Trump nominated to the powerful 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Ozerden’s nomination Thursday, a crucial test to his confirmation.
Ozerden already faces opposition from Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and likely will need at least one Democratic vote to advance. But with other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee undecided, he could need more.
By Wednesday evening, Ozerden’s fate appeared in jeopardy, with Democratic and Republican senators unable to predict whether or not he would move forward. So far, Senate Democrats have not indicated explicit support for Ozerden. But Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) suggested Wednesday that he was considering voting yes.
“I’m going to wait till tomorrow,” Durbin said. “It isn’t very obvious but it’s been working in both directions, some judges that were important to me got through the committee with Republican support. We try to help one another where we can in the zone of reasonableness.”
Confirming Trump’s judicial nominees is a top priority for Senate Republicans, and the GOP has used the reshaping of the federal judiciary as a key talking point ahead of the 2020 elections.
Unlike other Trump judicial nominees, Ozerden doesn’t have the backing of conservative groups like the Judicial Crisis Network. Republicans and conservatives have questioned Ozerden’s judicial philosophies as well as a 2012 opinion he authored while serving as a federal judge in Mississippi that deemed a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate premature.
Hawley, who announced in September that he would vote against Ozerden, said in an interview that that Ozerden’s Obamacare decision highlighted the Mississippi judge’s “troubling” views on religious liberty.
“I just think his religious liberty record is one that is difficult, that is troubling, there’s no issue that’s more complicated frankly,” Hawley said. “Those are very complex issues, they’re also really on the front line, which you’re going to have to deal with this for the next two, three decades.”
But Ozerden has the backing of his home state Mississippi senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, and strong support from Mulvaney, who was a groomsman at his wedding. Other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa, said that they were undecided. Ernst met with Ozerden Wednesday.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the White House is still pushing for Ozerden’s confirmation and appeared optimistic Wednesday that the committee would approve him.
“I feel good about it,” he said. “We’re going to have the president talk to some folks, I think he’s a good nominee, in my view exactly what I’d be looking for from a Trump pick.”
When asked if Democrats would support Ozerden’s nomination, Graham responded that Ozerden deserved bipartisan support. But he added, “we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Ozerden was slated for a committee vote in September, before the Senate left for a two-week recess. But the Judiciary Committee shelved the vote, shortly before it was scheduled after Hawley said that he would vote against Ozerden.
The Mississippi judge was controversial even before he was formally nominated. Mulvaney reportedly pushed for his nomination over objections from the White House Counsel’s office last year and the Judicial Crisis Network’s Chief Counsel Carrie Severino said the administration "could do better."
And in an unusual move prior to his confirmation hearing, Republican senators were given individual briefings from judiciary staff about his FBI background investigation. Some Republican staffers have questioned why the Senate Judiciary Committee was even holding a vote on the nominee, given the controversy and uncertainty around his nomination.
Democrats are not rushing to support the Mississippi judge. Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she planned to vote against him, as did Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii.). Sen. Chris Coons (D-Dela.) is undecided.
In explaining her opposition to Ozerden, Hirono cited that he “tried to show that he is conservative enough for the likes of Ted Cruz.” When asked about Democrats potentially helping Ozerden advance out of committee, Hirono responded: “I won’t be among them so I have nothing to say about that.”
Ozerden has the backing of some Senate Republicans on the committee. Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) plan to support his nomination, as does Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas.). But Cornyn questioned whether the Judiciary Committee would even have a vote Thursday morning and said “there’s a possibility” the White House will pull the nomination.
“I think it’s going to be close,” Cornyn said. “If it comes up for a vote.”
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.
