Former Dem congressman who lost by 109 votes in 2020 confirmed to lifetime judicial seat

Anthony J. Brindisi, a former Democratic member of Congress who serves on the New York State Court of Claims in Utica, will serve as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

The Democratic-led U.S. Senate voted 50-49 in favor of Brindisi, who was tapped by President Joe Biden in July. He will succeed the nation’s oldest active district court judge, 87-year-old David Hurd.

Brandisi is the first former member of Congress to join the federal bench in over two decades, overcoming Republican opposition to positions he took on legislation supporting immigrants and LGBTQ rights.

He was the target of various lines of questioning in which he attempted to frame himself as a jurist rather than a politician. 

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“On the bench, are you a politician or a judge?” Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn asked him during a hearing last month. 

“I’m a judge, senator,” Brindisi responded. 

Brandisi, 46, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. He served one term. After losing his seat to Republican challenger Claudia Tenney in the 2020 election, he returned to his former law firm, Utica-based Brindisi, Murad & Brindisi Pearlman, before becoming a state court judge starting in 2022.

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President-elect Trump accused Democrats of attempting to “stack the Courts” with radical appointees and urged Republicans to “Show Up and Hold the Line.” 

“No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The last time a former member of Congress joined the bench was in 2002, when the Senate confirmed now-Senior U.S. District Judge Bill Martini in New Jersey after he earlier served as a Republican member of the House.

Brindisi said the role of a judge was different from his past lawmaking work and that he wanted parties to feel he was a “fair and impartial judge,” Reuters reports. 

FOX News’ Hayley Chi-Sing, Chris Pandolfo, Jake Gibosn, Kelly Phares, Julia Johnson and Reuters contributed to this report. 

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