Schumer forced to pull vote on judicial nominee

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday pulled a planned vote on Mustafa Kasubhai’s nomination to be a district court judge in Oregon.

Republicans had lined up in opposition to Kasubhai’s nomination, and Democratic absences forced Schumer's hand. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) were all absent Tuesday, with Menendez having been absent for weeks due to his trial in New York. 

The Democratic leader is expected to try to get Kasubhai’s nomination across the finish line when they have full attendance. 

Democrats need all hands on deck because Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) has said he will not vote for any nominee that does not have bipartisan support. That means they need all 50 remaining Democrats or Independents who vote with Democrats to be present.

Kasubhai has garnered intense opposition among Republicans, who are hoping to tank his nomination. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) panned Schumer on Monday, saying that instead of using floor time on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, he “will dedicate floor time this week to the latest in the Biden administration’s parade of unfit nominations to the federal bench.”  

“Judge Kasubhai’s record and judicial philosophy put him well outside the mainstream,” McConnell said.

The Republican leader also labeled him a “committed Marxist” who is more interested in “passing fads of woke politics” than following the law.