Former congressman nominated to federal bench grilled by GOP in Senate Judiciary

WASHINGTON (CN) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to fill a vacancy on a New York district court weathered scrutiny on Wednesday from Republican lawmakers attempting to problematize his record as a former member of Congress.

During a hearing with a panel of prospective federal judges, GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee dialed in on Anthony Brindisi, tapped by the White House for a position in the Northern District of New York.

Brindisi had previously represented the Empire State’s 22nd Congressional District in the House — he was narrowly defeated in 2020 by current Republican Representative Claudia Tenney, whose victory was decided in state court. He was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims in 2022.

The former lawmaker’s political background was a focal point for Judiciary Committee Republicans hoping to poke holes in the Biden administration’s court nominees. The panel’s GOP members pressed Brindisi, a Democrat, particularly hard about his co-sponsorship of the 2019 Equality Act, a measure aimed at expanding federal discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

The bil, which had more than 200 co-sponsors, passed the House in 2019 but never saw a vote in the Senate. Subsequent iterations of the measure have similarly stumbled in Congress.

Republicans grilled Brindisi on a provision in the bill that would expand anti-discrimination laws to cover certain spaces, such as stores, restaurants and bathrooms. In questioning the nominee, GOP senators such as Judiciary Committee ranking member Lindsey Graham leaned on an often-repeated and little-evidenced argument that the measure’s language would put women in danger by allowing “biological males” to use women’s bathrooms.

“I thought it to be an unacceptable outcome to share locker rooms and bathrooms based on gender identity,” said Graham, asking Brindisi whether he still stood by the content of the proposed bill.

Brindisi was cautious to give a direct answer, explaining that it had been several years since he was in Congress. He also pointed out that he is currently a sitting judge in New York, suggesting that it wasn’t appropriate for him to weigh in on political matters.

But that explanation didn’t satisfy Republicans on the committee.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was particularly animated about Brindisi’s support for the Equality Act, fumed that the measure was “Orwellian” and slammed Brindisi for co-sponsoring and voting for it.

“Why did you sponsor and vote for legislation what would mandate that women be victimized?” Cruz asked the nominee.

Brindisi replied that his recollection of the bill was that it merely prevented discrimination based on gender identity, adding that he believed all people have the right to feel safe.

Carl Tobias, chair of the University of Richmond School of Law, called Cruz’s line of questioning — during which he repeatedly raised his voice and pounded the dais with his fist — “outrageous.”

“All of the nominees, even Brindisi, are well-qualified, mainstream nominees,” he told Courthouse News in an interview. “The gratuitous comments from Cruz are just off the mark.”

It’s not the first time Republican lawmakers have leveraged issues of LBGTQ rights and gender identity against the Biden administration’s judicial nominees.

The Judiciary Committee in July failed to advance Southern District of New York nominee Sarah Netburn after GOP lawmakers raged about a decision she made as a magistrate judge recommending that an incarcerated trans woman be moved to a women’s prison from a men’s prison.

Though Netburn had reasoned at the time that refusing to move the inmate — a registered sex offender serving a sentence for distributing child pornography — would violate her Eighth Amendment rights, Republicans framed her recommendation as politically-motivated and argued it put women inmates in danger.

Heartburn over Netburn’s record convinced Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, to vote against her nomination, preventing it from moving to the Senate floor for confirmation.

Cruz, a leading GOP voice against the nominee, invoked her again Wednesday as he needled Brindisi, demanding the former congressman give his opinion on the prison transfer recommendation which tripped up Netburn.

“As a sitting judge now, and if I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed as a district court judge, I will follow statute,” Brindisi told the Texas senator.

Tobias opined that Republicans, especially those like who are Cruz facing tough races in November, have identified LGBTQ issues as “good politics” for attacking the Biden administration and its nominees.

“It’s always easy to do something that is negative vis a vis a minority, especially transgender people,” he said. “It’s hard to see [Republicans] as champions of women inmates. That’s ludicrous.”

And despite the grilling he received from the Judiciary Committee’s GOP contingent, Tobias predicted that Brindisi would likely advance through the panel on a party-line vote — and that he would have enough votes to be confirmed by the full Senate.

Meanwhile, the Judiciary Committee questioned a slate of five other prospective federal court judges Wednesday, including Elizabeth Coombe, nominated to the Northern District of New York, Sarah Davenport, tapped for the District of New Mexico and Sharad Desai, appointed to join the bench on the District of Arizona.

Democrats have been on a judiciary blitz in recent months as they work to surpass the 234 judicial confirmations under the Trump administration. Wednesday marked the last set of pending White House nominees to go before the Judiciary Committee.

There are also several nominees awaiting confirmation votes in the full Senate — but lawmakers will have to take these appointments up after the presidential election. Senators are set to leave town this week and will not return until mid-November.

Follow @BenjaminSWeiss