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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tore into Seventh Circuit nominee U.S. District Judge Nancy L. Maldonado on the Senate floor Tuesday, criticizing her case backlog and saying that she has distinguished herself "with sheer incompetence."

McConnell, R-Ky., said that confirming Judge Maldonado would be essentially "taking a judge who has proven herself incapable of swimming in the shallow end of the pool and throwing her into Lake Michigan."

"The people and litigants of the Seventh Circuit deserve better," McConnell said. "And if my colleagues want to see basic competence in their judges, they ought to reject this nominee."

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Judge Maldonado, of the Northern District of Illinois, last month despite Republicans questioning a backlog of cases in her court. During a hearing in March, Republicans said she has one of the largest case backlogs among federal district judges and President Joe Biden was wrong in nominating her to the appellate bench.

McConnell echoed many of those criticisms Tuesday, noting that Biden was the one who put in place reforms tracking how many fully briefed motions have been sitting without a decision for at least six months.

"It was a good reform because justice delayed is justice denied," McConnell said. "And as it turns out, Judge Maldonado has by far the largest number of motions pending for more than six months among the judges of the Seventh Circuit, with 125."

McConnell acknowledged that the judge has attributed this backlog, in part, to the complexity of cases and long transcripts and briefs.

"Does the president think his nominee will face less complex cases on the Court of Appeals?" he asked. "Lighter caseloads? Less voluminous transcripts or briefs?"

"Why on earth would our colleagues consider giving new and greater responsibilities to a judge who's clearly struggling with the ones she's already got?" he added.

Meanwhile, Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., again defended Judge Maldonado, writing in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she "has never — not once — been reversed by an appellate court."

"Frankly, I'm surprised he brought her up," Durbin said.

He added, "I look forward to her confirmation."

Judge Maldonado couldn't be immediately reached for comment late Tuesday.

During March's hearing, which involved five total judicial nominations, Judge Maldonado attributed some of the backlog to the reassignment of additional cases due to the exit of three of the district's other judges after she joined the bench. She also noted that she was confirmed near the end of COVID-19 delays.

"I had cases set for trial that were older and should have gone to trial during the COVID period, but for obvious reasons they did not," she said.

Judge Maldonado also said that she and her clerks have a plan for prioritizing motions and reducing the backlog.