Democratic socialist actress Cynthia Nixon handed powerful role in helping choose New York top judges

Progressive activist and actress Cynthia Nixon has been added to the committee that helps select New York's top judges, according to a report from the New York Post Thursday.

Nixon, an outspoken democratic socialist who mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018, was appointed to a four-year term on the Commission on Judicial Nomination. The panel reviews candidates for the state Court of Appeals, and the governor can only appoint nominees approved by the commission.

Some Republican lawmakers criticized the appointment by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, arguing that putting a celebrity activist without a law degree on the panel sends a political message. Her term expires April 30, 2030.

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State Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Anthony Palumbo criticized the pick, telling The New York Post he’s "disappointed, but not surprised that we have a radical progressive actress without a law degree selecting judges in the state of New York."

According to her biography on the New York State website, "Cynthia Nixon is a native New Yorker who began acting professionally at the age of 12 and has worked as an actor and director for nearly 50 years."

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It notes her political activism centers on abortion access, public school funding, LGBTQ equality and breast cancer awareness, adding that her 2018 gubernatorial run focused on "economic, racial, and gender equality."

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Nixon is best known for playing lawyer Miranda Hobbes in HBO's "Sex and the City," but has also appeared in shows like HBO's "The Gilded Age." Most commission members are practicing lawyers or government officials, although a law degree is not required.

The website notes the commission plays an "important role" in state government. 

"Its purpose is to see that the judges who sit on New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, are chosen from candidates who reflect the diversity of New York’s citizenry and are among the State’s most highly qualified and accomplished judges, practicing lawyers and legal scholars," it reads.

It also notes that the "Commission’s mandate is a powerful one: the Constitution requires that the Governor choose Judges of the Court of Appeals only from the nominees of the Commission."

Legal analyst Jonathan Turley was disgusted, writing on X, "The New York legal system continues to make a parody of itself. Cynthia Nixon, who played a lawyer on HBO’s Sex and the City, has been appointed by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson to screen and recommend candidates to serve on the state of New York’s highest court."

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Nixon lost the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary in a landslide to incumbent Andrew Cuomo. During that campaign, she leaned into the democratic socialist label, telling Politico that "if being a democratic socialist means that you believe health care, housing, education and the things we need to thrive should be a basic right, not a privilege, then count me in."

Last year, she publicly backed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after his Democratic mayoral primary victory, writing on Instagram, "I love this young man so so much! He is a miracle of nature and I would follow him to the ends of the earth (and I almost have!)"

Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon's representatives but did not immediately hear back.