The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 51-to-44 along party lines to approve the nomination of federal Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai as a higher-rankingfederal district judge — the final chapter in Kasubhai’s prolonged path to confirmation.
Kasubhai, who has served 16 years on the federal and state bench, will become the third Muslim-American U.S. District Court judge in the country.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is working to confirm as many of President Joe Biden’s nominees to the federal bench as possible before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Tuesday’s vote followed a Senate session Monday night when Republicans forced procedural votes on several of Biden’s otherjudicial nominees.
On Tuesday, Democratic senators asked the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms to call absent senators to the floor to ensure a quorum after Republicans objected to a request to waive quorum for a vote to halt debate on Kasubhai’s nomination. Ultimately, the Senate voted to 51-to-43 to end debate and then took up the vote on Kasubhai more than two hours later.
The votes followed a decision by Senate Democrats in June to delay a procedural vote to advance Kasubhai, concerned then they did not have the votes to confirm him amid Republican opposition.
A year ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-to-10 along party lines to forward Kasubhai’s nomination to the floor.
Oregon U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, urged support for Kasubhai, who became the first Muslim American to serve on the federal bench when he started as a magistrate judge in 2019. He previously served as a Lane County circuit judge from 2007 to 2018 and is a 1996 graduate of University of Oregon School of Law.
“This is a great day for justice in America. Judge Kasubhai brings to the U.S. District Court an all-star résumé of legal accomplishment, judicial temperament and personal integrity,” Wyden and Merkley said in a joint statement. “We are gratified the Senate has acted to confirm this standout jurist and are fully confident this exceptional Oregonian will be an outstanding addition to the federal court in our state.”
Merkley has called him an “outspoken champion for justice, fierce believer in democracy and passionate advocate for the rule of law.” Wyden has highlighted Kasubhai’s early practice of law in rural Klamath Falls and his continued mentorship of students “to create hope and opportunity for the next generation of legal professionals.”
Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an adviser at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, applauded Kasubhai’s confirmation and thanked Biden, Merkley and Wyden for their leadership in his nomination. The conference is a coalition of more than 240 national organizations that lobbies for civil rights laws.
“Judge Kasubhai possesses significant experience defending and protecting the rights of working people and, as a fair-minded magistrate judge, has been deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and fairness in his courtroom. He also makes history as the first Asian American lifetime judge and first Muslim lifetime judge on the District of Oregon,” Zwarensteyn said in a statement. “This personal and professional diversity strengthens our democracy by improving judicial decision-making and allows more people to see themselves reflected and represented in the courtroom.”
Republican lawmakers have blasted Kasubhai’s promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion in the justice system and his willingness to respect people’spronouns in court and criticized him for striking down a citywide curfew in Eugene during the 2020 racial justice demonstrations.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who focuses on federal courts and the Constitution, said Kasubhai deserves “substantial credit for persevering in the face of staunch GOP opposition across a 14-month period.”
“The nominee displayed what real judicial temperament looks like in comprehensively, clearly, and calmly answering all of the questions that panel members asked him. Kasubhai will be a diligent, intelligent, and careful judge, who will provide excellent judicial service,” Tobias said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, said the Senate would work the rest of the week and year to confirm Biden’s nominations to the federal judiciary.
“We’ve confirmed more women and people of color too. All of these individuals are highly qualified by their own merits, but their broad range of backgrounds and experiences is an additional asset to the bench,” Schumer said.
Mustafa was one about 30 nominees in the confirmation pipeline awaiting a final vote
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