A judge ruled that the Trump administration's plan to send the men to the nation's harshest prison rendered their attempts to challenge the transfer a "sham" process.
The measure had no path forward in the Senate, where Democrats are all but certain to block it and Republicans have said they will not try to skirt filibuster rules to ram it through.
Phil Berger has led the State Senate for years with an iron grip. But in a March election, he faces a popular, horse-riding sheriff who could topple his reign.
After defending one of the first priests charged with child sex abuse, he coauthored a 1985 report warning that the problem was endemic and ignoring it could be catastrophic.