Know a Nominee: Steven Menashi to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

UPDATED - 11/14/19: The Senate confirmed Steven Menashi's nomination to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on a 51-41 vote. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was the only Republican to vote against his confirmation, joining all Democrats who were in attendance.

UPDATED - 11/13/19: The Senate voted 51-44 to limit further debate on Menashi's nomination to be a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. All Republicans except for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) voted in favor. A confirmation vote is expected Thursday.

The Senate is expected to consider the nomination of Steven Menashi to be a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals this week. Here’s what you need to know about the nominee:

Who is he?

• Steven Menashi, 40, is an attorney and has served as the Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President since September 2018, after serving as Deputy General Counsel for Postsecondary Service and Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Dept. of Education in 2017-18.
• Menashi worked as a partner in the New York City law office of Kirkland & Ellis from 2011 to 2016. During the 2013-2016 period, he also was a research fellow at the New York University School of Law.
• Menashi earned his bachelor’s degree with honors with honors from Dartmouth College, and was the senior articles editor of the Stanford Law Review while graduating from Stanford Law School. After law school, he clerked for Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court, and for Justice Samuel Alito of the U.S. Supreme Court.

What’s the outlook for his confirmation?

• The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Menashi’s nomination on a party-line 12-10 vote, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.
• Menashi’s home state senators, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), didn’t return a “blue slip” to signal support for his nomination (although the Senate no longer allows home state senators to block judicial nominations by withholding them).
• A majority of the American Bar Association’s judicial nomination rating panel gave Menashi a rating of “well qualified”, while a minority gave him a rating of “qualified”. 

What does it mean for the Second Circuit?

• Menashi’s confirmation would fill a vacancy on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that became vacant when Judge Dennis Jacobs (a George H.W. Bush nominee) assumed senior status in May 2019. Jacobs' duty station was in New York, New York.
• The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has 13 active judgeships. Of the judges on the bench, three were appointed by Bill Clinton, two by George W. Bush, three by Barack Obama, and four by Donald Trump. Menashi’s confirmation would fill the lone vacancy.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock / imaginima)