Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t concerned about his Court of Appeals nominee Jenny Rivera not being confirmed by the state Senate next week, telling Susan Arbetter on The Capitol Pressroom that the concerns raised by GOP lawmakers are part of the normal give-and-take.

“The Republicans have differed with me on any number of appointments and that’s not going to change and that’s healthy,” he said.

GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee this week questioned whether Rivera was qualified for the job. A CUNY law professor, Rivera has worked for Cuomo in the attorney general’s office and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

She has never served as a judge, however — which Republicans picked up on when questioning her resume. Sen. John Bonacic went as far as to suggest Cuomo and past governors are “socially engineering” the court to include more minority judges.

Cuomo did defend Rivera’s credentials, noting that Chief Judge Judith Kaye had never say on the bench until being appointed to the Court of Appeals by his father, Mario Cuomo.

“I reject the premise that just because you are not a judge means you can’t be a good judge,” he said.

It’s been a week of give and take with the Legislature, with legislative leaders in both chambers seeking a broader role for where casinos would be built and which operators run them.

Cuomo is holding fast on the issue, saying he won’t support casino expansion in upstate unless the process is controlled by a gambling commission.

“If it’s going to create a political process, I want nothing to do with it,” he said.

Share|