The Vermont Senate confirmed both of Gov. Phil Scott’s nominees for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but Michael Drescher’s appointment was nearly derailed due to criticism that the veteran federal prosecutor represented the government in high-profile ICE detention cases. Most Democrats voted a gainst Drescher’s nomination out of concern that he was the face of the Office of the U.S Attorney in the federal detention cases, including Mohsen Mahdawi’s. The Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student was arrested in April by federal agents at an immigration meeting. Drescher later argued against his release. All Republicans supported Drescher’s nomination. But two Democrats from Bennington, Sens. Seth Bongartz and Rob Plunkett, broke ranks with their peers and also voted to confirm, leading to a 15-15 tie. In such cases, the lieutenant governor must cast the deciding vote, and that’s exactly what John Rodgers did — in favor of Drescher. A lieutenant governor hasn’t broken a tie vote since 2019. Rodgers said he felt Drescher was “just doing his job.” He said he felt the prosecutor was “highly qualified” and that the appointment process “became political” because senators received input from members of the public who “maybe don’t know all the facts.” “I stand behind my decision,” Rodgers said after his vote. “It’s based in the knowledge and the fact that I believe this guy is gonna be a truly great justice.” Most Democrats strongly disagreed. “Not only was he in the wrong place, he was on the wrong side of two hugely important human rights cases in Vermont,” Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison) said in voting against him. Sen. Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington) Credit: Kevin McCallum Hardy said Drescher seemed not to understand that he effectively “took the side of a government that is actively doing harm to people in America.” Instead of reflecting on that and trying to see how his actions might cause Vermonters to lose confidence in him, Drescher seemed to think he was nevertheless entitled to the ascend to the bench, Hardy said. “Nobody is entitled to a seat on the Supreme Court,” Hardy said. Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D-Chittenden-Central) noted that Drescher didn’t just do his job but seemed to embrace it. She noted that he attended a press conference in Florida held by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and didn’t view this as an expression of support for the administration’s policies. “Mr. Dreschser is a nice guy. I do believe that,” she said. “What I do not believe is that he has the courage, the insight or the public trust to serve on the Vermont Supreme Court in a time when our rights are under attack daily.” Bongartz said that while he is no fan of Donald Trump’s “thuggery,” he disagreed with the people who argued that Drescher should have resigned instead of arguing the ICE cases. Drescher actually worked to get one high-profile detainee, Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, released from a Louisiana prison after a Vermont judge ordered it, Bongartz noted. He argued that the Senate should merely be deciding whether candidates were qualified and had the character to be Supreme Court justices, who serve for life. “We do not get to substitute our judgement for that of the governor,” he said. He argued that “hanging him out to dry” for doing his job would make the nominating process more political, not less. Christina Nolan, who served as U.S. Attorney in Vermont during President Donald Trump’s first term, had a far smoother path to nomination. Sen. Nader Hashim (D-Windham), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was “pleasantly surprised” to find that Nolan was knowledgeable but also empathetic. “I‘m fully confident that Ms. Nolan would serve as a justice with integrity, as she claimed the Supreme Court must act as a bulwark against government overreach,” he said. Nolan was approved by a 23-7 vote. Correction: The vote tally on Nolan was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. The post Drescher Confirmed for Supreme Court in Rare Tie-Breaker Vote appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less