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The nomination of one of President Trump’s nominees to a federal appeals court seat is in peril amid strong public opposition from two conservative Republican senators.
The Senate Judiciary Committee says it removed U.S. District Court Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden of Mississippi from a planned vote Thursday at the request of the White House. Trump nominated Ozerden to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in June, but his choice has faced opposition from Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Both lawmakers serve on the Judiciary panel and without their support, Ozerden would need Democratic votes to go to the full Senate with the Judiciary Committee's recommendation.
Ozerden, a close ally of White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, faces skepticism from Cruz and Hawley over his dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's health care law and other rulings they say show he is not a true conservative.
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Senators have also questioned whether Ozerden's rulings as a judge have been overturned more frequently than other nominees.
“For a lifetime appointment on the court of appeals, I believe we should be looking for someone with a strong, demonstrated record as a constitutionalist,” Cruz told Politico in September. “I have significant concerns that Judge Ozerden’s judicial record does not indicate that he meets that standard. For that reason, I do not believe he should be on the court of appeals, and I will oppose his nomination.”
U.S. District Judge Halil Ozerden.
Ozerden said at his nomination hearing that he dismissed a 2012 challenge to the health care law's contraceptive mandate on procedural grounds, adding that he followed legal precedent in the case.
"The notion I am somehow hostile to religious liberty is simply not accurate," Ozerden told senators.
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Cruz said Ozerden denied the Catholic Church a hearing and issued a "cursory opinion" that didn't include a detailed discussion about all of the church's arguments.
The Judiciary Committee has delayed a vote on Ozerden's nomination at least four times, indicating the White House is having trouble finding support for the judge on the committee, which is made up of12 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Withdrawal of Ozerden's nomination would be a rare setback for Trump, who has repeatedly touted his administration's success in getting more than 150 federal judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate, including 45 appeals court judges.
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About one-quarter of all current federal appeals court judges were nominated by Trump, an accomplishment the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., boasted about last week.
"Nobody's done more to change the court system in the history of our country than Donald Trump," McConnell said at a rally in his home state of Kentucky. "And Mr. President, we're going to keep on doing it. My motto is 'Leave no vacancy behind.'"
The New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit court handles cases from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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