(ImpactHeadlines.com) – In an incredible turn of events, a United States Senate panel just narrowly rejected a judicial nominee from President Joe Biden after Republicans strongly objected to a decision she made during her time as a magistrate judge to recommend that a transgender inmate who was convicted of child abuse be moved to a women’s prison.
Sarah Netburn, who served for 13 years as a magistrate judge in Manhattan, New York, caused controversy in 2022 when she recommended that a 58-year-old offender be moved to a female facility.
The Thursday decision came after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia broke from other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who were not opposed to making the appointment. Ossoff’s decision meant that the Republicans won the vote 10-11, preventing U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn from becoming a district court judge with a life tenure.
The vote is the first time during the Biden administration that the panel has voted to reject one of the president’s nominees, and the fact that a Democrat sided with Republicans on an issue considered so contentious could indicate that the Democrats are finally waking up to how the rest of America thinks.
While the panel voted to reject Netburn, eight other nominees put forward by the president were approved. Among those who were successful was Embry Kidd, a Florida magistrate judge who will now sit on Atlanta’s 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
When approached for comment on his decision, a spokesperson for Senator Ossoff said that he takes care to apply “rigorous and independent judgment” to ensure he represents his constituents. Neither the White House nor Netburn have responded to requests for comment on the decision.
The statement from Ossoff’s representatives could indicate that the decision was made to ensure that Ossoff represented the views of his constituents in a way that some more ideologically committed Democrat legislators may not typically think of doing.
Since entering the White House in 2021, President Biden has proposed 202 judicial nominees, all of whom have been confirmed.
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